Stock Market Plunges Over Fears Of Coronavirus Pandemic

U.S. stocks plunged Monday morning over fears of a possible global coronavirus pandemic.

The Dow Jones dropped 997 points, or 3.4%, when markets opened Monday, CNN reported. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also fell 3.2% and 4.3%, respectively.

The Monday morning plunge puts the Dow on pace for its biggest one-day drop since mid-August when it dropped 800 points after the yield on 10-year Treasury notes dipped below the 2-year rate.

U.S. firms that rely on Chinese manufacturing have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China. As of Monday, the virus has infected 77,150 people in China, killing 2,592.

“The second-largest economy in the world is completely shut down. People aren’t totally pricing that in,” Larry Benedict, CEO of The Opportunistic Trader, told CNBC. “It seems like there’s much more to come,” he said, predicting that a 10% to 15% correction in stocks may be on the horizon.

The World Health Organization reported on Monday that there are 79,339 confirmed cases of Wuhan coronavirus in 30 countries, killing 2,619.

The virus has also spread to several countries outside China.

Some 50 people have died from coronavirus in the Iranian city of Qom, Iranian officials reported Monday.

And 152 people in Italy have been infected by the virus, up from just three people from just 10 days ago, Fox News reported.

“We are worried about the situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran and in Italy,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization.

Tedros told reporters on Monday that the World Health Organization does not yet consider the Wuhan coronavirus to be a pandemic.

“What we are seeing are epidemics in different parts of the world,” he said.