Updated February 28, 2020 05:54:42

Photo: Industry analysts and economists continue to sound the alarm as they assess the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak. (Reuters: Brendan McDermid)

US stock markets have fallen sharply in early trading, as the rapid spread of the coronavirus outside China intensified fears about the hit to economic growth and corporate earnings.

Wall Street's main indexes tumbled nearly 2 per cent on Thursday (local time) and confirmed a correction that began last week.

At session lows, the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq were down more than 10 per cent from their intraday record highs on February 19, while the Dow Jones Industrials was 10 per cent off its February 12 peak.

The indexes were set for their steepest weekly pullback since the 2008 global financial crisis, as new coronavirus infections reported around the world surpassed those in mainland China.

Governments battling the spread shut schools, cancelled big events and stocked up on medical supplies.

In the United States, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an infection in California in a person who reportedly did not have relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient.

"It's not a China thing, it's becoming more global … in terms of the spread of the virus and its economic impact," said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee.

"There's a lot of uncertainty right now about where that impact lands … it's also possible that forecasts are over-reacting to the downside."

Here's a rundown of all the facts about coronavirus, and how you can make sure you're protected.

Industry analysts and economists continued to sound the alarm as they assessed the fallout of the outbreak, with Goldman Sachs saying US firms will generate no earnings growth in 2020.

Bank of America slashed its global growth forecast to the lowest since the peak of the financial crisis.

At 11:17am (ET), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 465.60 points, or 1.73 per cent, at 26,491.99, the S&P 500 was down 52.86 points, or 1.70 per cent, at 3,063.53.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 171.51 points, or 1.91 per cent, at 8,809.26.

All of the 11 S&P sectors were deep in the red with technology losing about 2.9 per cent, while financials, consumer discretionary, energy and real estate sectors dropped more than 2 per cent each.

The NYSE Arca Airline index slumped 4.7 per cent on fears about travel disruptions beyond China while the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index, comprised of China-exposed stocks, tumbled 2.3 per cent.

Reuters

Topics: business-economics-and-finance, health, respiratory-diseases, diseases-and-disorders, united-states

First posted February 28, 2020 05:19:44