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* Dow component Travelers slumps after results
* China virus scare hits travel, casino stocks
* Airlines weaker after Southwest earnings
* Indexes slide: Dow 0.60%, S&P 0.45%, Nasdaq 0.30%
(Updates to open)
By Sruthi Shankar
Jan 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes fell on Thursday, as
mounting worries over a coronavirus outbreak in China,
disappointing corporate earnings and weakness in financial
stocks prompted investors to hit the brakes after a strong rally
this year.
China put on lockdown on Thursday two cities at the
epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed 17 people
and infected nearly 600 amid fears the transmission rate will
accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel for the
Lunar New Year holidays. Casino and hotel operators including Wynn Resorts Ltd
WYNN.O , Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd MLCO.O and Las
Vegas Sands Corp LVS.N , which draw a large portion of their
revenue from China, were down between and 1.0% and 4.2%.
Airline stocks were mostly weaker, with Southwest Airlines
Co LUV.N slipping 0.7% after reporting a 21% fall in
fourth-quarter profit due to Boeing 737 MAX costs. American
Airlines Group Inc AAL.O fell 2.9% despite reporting a
better-than-expected profit. "There is some concern that this will turn from an epidemic
to a pandemic," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist
at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.
However, Pavlik added it was a reason for investors to take
some profits in an "overbought" market.
Fears of the virus outbreak hitting the global economy have
knocked world stock markets off record highs this week even as
U.S. earnings reports so far have mostly been in line with
expectations.
However, earnings reports on Thursday were largely
disappointing. Dragging the Dow lower, insurer Travelers Cos Inc
TRV.N fell 4.5% following results. Financial stocks .SPSY , down 1.1%, were among the biggest
decliners along with the energy .SPNY and materials .SPLRCM
indexes.
At 9:57 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
fell 0.60% to 29,010.30. The S&P 500 .SPX shed 0.45% to
3,306.82 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 0.30% at
9,355.31.
Chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc TXN.O fell 1.8% despite
forecasting first-quarter revenue above market expectations, but
bullish brokerage actions on Micron Technology Inc MU.O and
Western Digital Corp WDC.O checked losses in the sector.
Apparel maker VF Corp VFC.N slumped about 8% after cutting
its full-year earnings forecasts on weak demand for its
Timberland brand. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.73-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.76-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 25 new 52-week highs and three new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 28 new lows.