Wall Street close: US Benchmarks catching the coronavirus

• S&P 500 lost 52 points, or 1.57%, to end near 3,244.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average, DJIA, lost 454 points, or 1.6%, to end 28,535.
• The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 176 points, or 1.9%, to close at around 9.139.

US benchmarks struggled in Monday due to the concerns over the coronavirus and the likely pandemic should authorities not be able to contain it. The US 10-years were down to the lowest levels since last October. 

• The US 10-year Treasury yield drops below 1.60% for the first time since October

Subsequently, the S&P 500 lost 52 points, or 1.57%, to end near 3,244 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, DJIA, lost 454 points, or 1.6%, to end 28,535, based on preliminary numbers. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 176 points, or 1.9%, to close at around 9.139.

Key notes about the coronavirus

• Officials say they have limited knowledge about the virus and the risks posed by its mutations.
• At least 81 are dead in China, and more than 2,700 are confirmed to be infected.
• Some health experts estimate up to 100,000 people could be infected.

In a report written in The Hill, Joseph Guzman explains that Chinese officials warn infected patients can spread the virus before showing symptoms.

A longtime adviser to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. William Schaffner, told CNN the new development means “the infection is much more contagious than we originally thought.” 

Schaffner called it a game changer and warned current preventative methods won’t be enough to fight off the outbreak since tracking down the contacts a patient had before experience symptoms complicates the situation. 

US data

December home sales fell 0.4% on top of a downwardly revised 1.1% fall in November. "Sales fell every month in Q4, but for 2019 as a whole, sales rose 10.3%. The January Dallas Fed index continued the improvement in regional manufacturing data. New orders, production and capacity utilisation all rose, though employment eased. The regional data are all pointing to a basing in output as 2020 gets underway," analysts at ANZ Bank explained. 

Dow levels