(Corrects Reuters instrument code for 10-year U.S. Treasury in
paragraph 14 to "US10YT=RR", from "US10YR=RR", in March 5 story)
* Shares of airlines, cruise liners lead declines
* Bank stocks track a fall in Treasury yields
* Futures down: Dow 2.09%, S&P 2.13%, Nasdaq 2.07%
By Medha Singh and Sanjana Shivdas
March 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for strong declines
at the open on Thursday as the fast-spreading coronavirus led
California to declare an emergency, while airline stocks were
hammered by crippled travel demand.
The S&P 500 .SPX had ended 4% higher on Wednesday, as Joe
Biden's surprising lead in the Democratic primaries distracted
traders from the widening spread of the pathogen in the United
States.
The benchmark index has recouped nearly half of its losses
from its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis, but is
still about 7.5% below its record close on Feb. 19.
Fears about economic growth resurfaced on Thursday as the
U.S. death toll rose to 11 and California reported the first
fatality outside Washington state, a day after lawmakers
approved an $8.3 billion bill to combat the outbreak.
Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX jumped 14% to 36.60.
"Volatility is the norm right now as we ascertain how much
economic damage is going to be done in the wake of the
coronavirus epidemic," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist
at National Securities in New York.
Recent data have signaled underlying strength in the
domestic economy. Official figures on Thursday showed weekly
jobless claims fell last week, following a strong reading of the
services sector.
All eyes will now be on the crucial non-farm payrolls report
due on Friday.
U.S. airline Southwest LUV.N tumbled 3% after issuing a
revenue warning as the outbreak crushes passenger numbers, while
United Airlines UAL.O and JetBlue Airways JBLU.O cut flights
and implemented cost controls. The International Air Transport Association also flagged a
potential $113 billion hit to global airline revenue, sending
shares in American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O , Delta Air Lines
DAL.N and Spirit Airlines SAVE.N down more than 3%.
Cruise operators Carnival Corp CCL.N , Royal Caribbean
Cruises RCL.N and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings NCLH.N
dropped between 3.7% and 4.9% as health officials screened
people on a cruise line linked to the death in California.
At 8:54 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 564 points,
or 2.09%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 66.25 points, or
2.13% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 183.75 points, or
2.07%.
Traders are betting on more monetary easing after an
emergency interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve earlier this
week.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury US10YT=RR yield dipped
below 1% again, while shares in Bank of America Corp BAC.N ,
Citigroup Inc C.N , JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N , Goldman Sachs
GS.N , Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N and Morgan Stanley MS.N fell
between 2.9% and 3.5%. US/