NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street fell in a broad sell-off on Friday, as investors fled equities on growing concerns over the scope of the coronavirus outbreak, capping the S&P 500’s worst week in six months.
All three major U.S. stock averages turned sharply negative, with the S&P 500 seeing its biggest one-day percentage drop in over three months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the second case of the virus on U.S. soil, this time in Chicago.
S&P 500 and Dow wrapped up their worst week since August and the Nasdaq snapped a six-week winning streak.
Market participants kept a wary eye on developments surrounding the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization (WHO) deemed “an emergency in China,” having now killed 26 people and infected more than 800 on the eve of the Lunar New Year holiday.
“Markets hate uncertainty and the virus has been enough to inject uncertainty in the markets,” said David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York.
But some analysts believe the investors were looking for a reason to take money off the table.
“The virus is really more an excuse to take profits right now,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New York.
Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago, agreed. “The markets are expensive and were looking for a reason to go down, and (the virus) is the excuse to do it.”
Intel Corp’s (INTC.O) stock surged 8.1% after reporting jumps in data center and cloud computing revenue and forecasting better-than-expected 2020 earnings.
