Stocks fell sharply on Monday as the number of coronavirus cases outside China surged, stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown from the virus spreading.
The Dow Jones Industrials collapsed 1,031.61 points, or 3.6%, to 27,960.80. It was the Dow’s biggest point and percentage-point drop since February 2018. The Dow also gave up its gain for 2020 and is now down 2% for the year
The S&P 500 slumped 111.86 points, or 3.4%, to 3,225.89. The S&P 500 also had its worst day in two years and wiped out its year-to-date gain as well.
The NASDAQ folded 355.31 points, or 3.7%, to 9,221.28.
Coronavirus-impacted names led the way lower. Airline stocks Delta and American were both down more than 6% while United closed 5.4% lower. Shares of casino operators Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts dropped at least 5.2% each. MGM Resorts slid 5.4%.
Chipmakers, which are highly leveraged to the global economy, were also down broadly. Nvidia shares were down 7.1% while Dow-component Intel ended the day down 4%. AMD dipped 7.8%.
Apple and its suppliers took a hit as well. Shares of the iPhone maker were down by 4.8%. Skyworks Solutions and Qorvo dropped more than 1.8% each.
Monday’s moves came as investors watch developments surrounding the coronavirus outbreak that was first reported in China, but has spread rapidly in other countries especially South Korea and Italy, which reported a spike in the number of confirmed cases in recent days.
South Korea raised its coronavirus alert to the “highest level” over the weekend, with the latest spike in numbers bringing the total infected to more than 750 — making it the country with the most cases outside mainland China.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 1.37% from Friday’s 1.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $2.18 to $51.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $14.60 to $1,663.40 U.S. an ounce.