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U.S. stock market futures sank late Sunday as the spread of coronavirus raised worries that global economic growth could take a hit.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -1.25% fell more than 300 point soon after electronic trading opened late Sunday. S&P 500 futures ES00, -1.30% and Nasdaq Composite futures NQ00, -1.73% also fell more than 1% each.
South Korea’s Kospi 180721, -2.54% sank more than 2% as the country went on high alert to contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. More than 600 people in South Korea have been infected, with most of the diagnoses coming in the past few days. Under the new alert level, the government has the authority to order schools to be closed, stop public transportation and to cut off flights to and from South Korea.
Crude oil prices fell as well, with West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery CLJ20, -2.88% and April Brent crude BRNJ20, -3.26% , the global benchmark, each down more than 2%.
Authorities in northern Italy canceled some public events, including Venice’s Carnival, in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus. Italian officials said Sunday they have 152 confirmed cases, the most in any country outside Asia.
China’s President Xi Jinping on Sunday noted the outbreak news was “grim,” but said measures must be taken to get China’s economy going again, including reopening factories in low-risk areas. Experts forecast as much as a 1% reduction in China’s economic output this quarter due to strict quarantines that shuttered businesses and factories.
Chinese officials again reported fewer than 1,000 new cases Sunday, though the overall total in mainland China is nearly 77,000 infected with more than 2,400 deaths.
