Dow slides over 3,500 points in worst week since financial crisis
Stocks maintained declines on Friday after Fed Chair Powell issued a statement indicating that policymakers are ready to act if the coronavirus fallout continues.
"The fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong. However, the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity. The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook. We will use our tools and act as appropriate to support the economy" he said.
FED'S POWELL WARNS ON CORONAVIRUS
The Dow lost nearly 357 points on Friday and over 3,500 points for the week. The global selloff has stocks registering their steepest weekly decline since the 2008 global financial crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, in heavy trading, trimmed losses of as much as 1,085.63 points, or 4.2 percent. Microsoft, Facebook, Visa and Exxon Mobil were among the stocks investors bought late in the session.
The S&P 500 declined while the Nasdaq etched out a fractional gain.
The early losses come a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,190.95 points, the biggest single-day point drop in history. Six days of selling has battered U.S. markets, shaving 12 percent off the S&P 500 and tipping the index into the fastest correction in its history.
The coronavirus has infected at least 82,294 people globally and killed 2,804, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization.
Looking at stocks, some of the hardest-hit sectors, including airlines and casino operators.
Apple and Tesla, some of the market’s highest fliers earlier this year, remained under pressure after losing 15.5 percent and 26 percent, respectively, over the previous six sessions.
Oil majors Chevron was weaker as West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell another 5 percent to $44.76 a barrel. The energy component plunged 16.2 percent for the week, posting its biggest weekly decline since December 2008. Gold miners, including Barrick Gold, were lower as the precious metal slid 3.8 percent to $1,579.40 an ounce.
Meanwhile, the drugmaker Nanovax soared after saying its effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine is progressing. Other drugmakers, like Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Nanoviricides, fell.
On the earnings front, Beyond Meat said fourth-quarter revenue surged 239 percent from a year ago, but earnings missed Wall Street estimates.
Dell Technologies reported trade restrictions caused weaker demand for its server products in China and said it expects that trend to continue into the current fiscal year.
Big Lots reported disappointing quarterly earnings and warned the coronavirus will have an impact on the current earnings period.
Heavy buying of U.S. Treasurys pushed the yield on the 10-year note down 14.2 basis points to a record low 1.127 percent.
In Europe, Germany's DAX tumbled 3.9 percent while Britain’s FTSE and France’s CAC were lower by 3.2 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.
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Markets were hit hard in Asia with China’s Shanghai Composite and Japan’s Nikkei both falling 3.7 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shedding 2.4 percent
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