Pedestrians in Milan, Italy. (Photo: Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg)
U.S. equities tumbled alongside stocks in Europe and Asia as authorities struggled to keep the coronavirus from spreading more widely outside China. Havens including Treasuries and gold jumped.
In a dramatic day across markets, these were some of the standout moves:
- The three main U.S. stock benchmarks all opened more than 3% lower, with the S&P 500 Index registering its biggest drop since August. The Dow Jones industrial average erased its gains for the year.
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid as much as 4.2% on twice its average volume, heading for the largest drop since 2016, as investors fled travel and luxury-goods shares. A gauge of credit risk on the region's high-yield companies jumped.
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank to its lowest since 2016.
- South Korea's benchmark dropped 3.9%, leading declines across Asia, though Japan's markets were shut for a holiday.
- Spot gold approached $1,700, while Brent crude oil tumbled almost 4%.
The risk-off mood hardened as the epidemic spread to more than 30 countries, with South Korea reporting a jump in infections and Italy locking down an area of 50,000 people near Milan. Finance chiefs and central bankers from the largest economies warned this weekend that they saw the virus bringing downside risks to global growth.
