Stocks Drop on Cloudy Outlook
February 20 2020 - 2:01PM
Dow Jones News
By Avantika Chilkoti and Alexander Osipovich
Major U.S. stock indexes slid Thursday as concerns mounted that
the coronavirus outbreak could have more of an impact on corporate
earnings and global growth than investors initially believed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 165 points, or 0.6%, in
early-afternoon trading. The S&P 500 dropped 0.6%, while the
Nasdaq Composite declined 1%. All three indexes have posted
double-digit gains over the past year and set repeated highs in
recent sessions.
For the most part, investors have shrugged off the outbreak that
has killed more than 2,100 people and infected more than 74,000,
mostly in mainland China. When the outbreak erupted into the
headlines last month, many analysts expected markets to follow the
pattern of past pandemics, such as severe acute respiratory
syndrome, in which stocks sold off sharply at the outset, only to
rebound once the rate of infections slowed.
But now doubts have set in as some analysts question whether
investors have been too sanguine in their reaction.
"People are saying, 'Wait a minute, is China going to get back
to business as quickly as we thought?'" said David Lafferty, chief
market strategist at Natixis Investment Managers.
Although fourth-quarter earnings for companies around the world
have generally been viewed as better than or in line with
expectations, forecasts for 2020 are being tempered by the impact
of the coronavirus outbreak.
Procter & Gamble warned Thursday that the outbreak will have
a material impact on its sales and earnings for the current
quarter, citing reduced store traffic in China and disruptions to
its supply chain. That followed a similar announcement from Apple
earlier this week.
Goldman Sachs analysts warned in a research note Thursday that
investors may be too sanguine about the resilience of corporate
earnings in the face of the outbreak.
"We believe the greater risk is that the impact of the
coronavirus on earnings may well be underestimated in current stock
prices, suggesting that the risks of a correction are high," the
Goldman note said.
Prices for gold and U.S. government bonds rose as investors
bought assets seen as havens. Gold futures were up 0.5% to
$1,619.50 a troy ounce, trading at the highest level in about seven
years. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.530%,
from 1.569% on Wednesday. Bond yields fall as prices rise.
China has stepped up efforts to limit the fallout of the
outbreak by lowering both short- and long-term lending rates this
week. Its central bank also plans to offer credit support to
businesses hurt by the epidemic, while the government earlier in
the week pledged other forms of assistance including technological
aid in bolstering supply chains.
In corporate news, shares of E*Trade Financial rallied 24% after
Morgan Stanley said it is buying the company in a $13 billion deal.
Shares in Morgan Stanley dropped 3.6%.
Shares in L Brands gained 1.2% after The Wall Street Journal
reported that the company is near a deal to sell control of
Victoria's Secret to a private-equity firm in a transaction that
values the lingerie brand at about $1.1 billion.
Marathon Petroleum rallied 3.9% after Bloomberg News reported
that Seven & I Holdings, the Japanese company that owns
7-Eleven, is in talks to acquire the company's Speedway gas
stations for about $22 billion.
Oil prices extended a recent rebound, climbing for the sixth
time in seven days after weekly inventory figures showed U.S. crude
stockpiles fell less than expected last week. U.S. crude futures
rose 0.9% to $53.96 a barrel..
Fresh data from the Labor Department showed the number of
Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits rose
slightly last week, but remained at a historically low level.
Initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 in the week ended Feb. 15 to a
seasonally adjusted 210,000, in line with economists'
expectations.
Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index sank 0.9%.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 1.8%, while Hong Kong's
benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 0.2%.
Australia's equity benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, meanwhile,
closed at a record for a second straight day, propelled 0.3% higher
on the back of strong corporate earnings.
In currencies, the South Korean won lost more than 1% against
the U.S. dollar after the number of new coronavirus cases in the
country surged to more than 100.
Write to Avantika Chilkoti at Avantika.Chilkoti@wsj.com and
Alexander Osipovich at alexander.osipovich@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 20, 2020 13:46 ET (18:46 GMT)
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