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* Amazon soars after strong results
* Risk aversion rises as coronavirus spreads globally
* Chicago PMI slides to 4-yr low in January
* Dow down 2.09%, S&P 500 down 1.77%, Nasdaq down 1.59%
(Updates to market close)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major averages
tumbled more than 1.5% on Friday, sealing its worst week in six
months, as the spreading coronavirus outbreak, coupled with
sluggish U.S. economic data and a mixed batch of corporate
earnings, fueled concerns about global growth.
After suffering its biggest one-day percentage decline since
Oct. 2, the S&P 500 .SPX is down more than 3% from its closing
high hit earlier in January, as businesses struggle with supply
problems from the coronavirus epidemic that has killed 213
people in China and been declared a global emergency.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it
had issued a quarantine order for all Americans repatriated from
China to an air base in California. However, stocks pared losses
late in the session as the agency director, Robert Redfield,
said the risk to the U..S public is low. Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N lost 2.38% and American Airlines
Group Inc AAL.O fell 3.17% after the companies said they
would suspend all flights to mainland China.
Economists fear the coronavirus could have a bigger impact
than Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed
about 800 people between 2002 and 2003 at an estimated cost of
$33 billion to the global economy, since China's share of the
world economy is now far greater.
U.S. data showing consumer spending rose steadily in
December while wage gains indicated moderate growth in
consumption amid contracting business investment added to the
growth concerns. Additionally, a report on manufacturing in the
Midwest hit a four-year low for January.
"We spent most of this week still with this kind of euphoric
optimism about the U.S. market, and today that finally began to
fade... people are finally starting to get concerned," said
Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in
Stamford, Connecticut.
"(The virus is) going to take a toll on the global economy,
and investors are just starting to realize that now here in the
U.S."
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O was a bright spot, surging 7.38% on
better-than-expected results for the holiday-quarter that pushed
it back into the $1 trillion market capitalization club.
Gains in Amazon helped the consumer discretionary index
.SPLRCD rise 0.82%, the only sector on the plus side. Energy
.SPNY was by far the worst performer, tumbling 3.18%.
Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N and Chevron Corp CVX.N
were the primary drags on the sector as each dropped more than
4% after disappointing results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 603.41 points,
or 2.09%, to 28,256.03, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 58.14 points, or
1.77%, to 3,225.52 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
148.00 points, or 1.59%, to 9,150.94.
For the week, the Dow fell 2.5%, the S&P lost 2.1% and the
Nasdaq declined 1.8%. Both the Dow and S&P 500 had their worst
weekly performances since early August. For the month, the Dow
lost 1%, the S&P slipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq rose 2%.
Visa Inc V.N fell 4.44% after its quarterly revenue missed
estimates and the payments network warned of incentives hitting
2020 results. International Business Machines Corp IBM.N gained 5.09%
after it named a new chief executive officer.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
3.58-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.35-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 33 new 52-week highs and 12 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 121 new lows.
About 9.03 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges,
compared with the 7.61 billion daily average over the last 20
sessions.