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* Intel hits 19-year high after strong forecast
* Energy, healthcare, financial stocks slide the most
* WHO says outbreak a China emergency, not global
* Indexes: Dow flat, S&P off 0.18%, Nasdaq up 0.03%
(Updates to open)
By Sruthi Shankar
Jan 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street came under pressure on Friday
as investors sold energy, financial and healthcare stocks on
mounting fears over the coronavirus outbreak in China, while
strong gains for chipmaker Intel limited losses on the main
indexes.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a
traveler from Wuhan, China had been diagnosed with the
coronavirus in Chicago, Illinois, making it the second confirmed
case of the virus in the country. The virus outbreak in China has killed 26 people and
infected more than 800 in the past week, raising concerns about
its fallout on the global economy. "If you look into these types of things in the past, they
tend to create some sort of a panic initially," said Randy
Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles
Schwab in Austin, Texas.
"But from the perspective of how they impact the economy and
the U.S. markets, they tend to be generally short-lived."
Chipmaker Intel Corp INTC.O jumped 7.2% to hit a 19-year
high after it forecast better-than-expected 2020 earnings,
joining many of its peers to signal a recovery in chip demand.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX also hit a
fresh record, with Broadcom Inc AVGO.O rising 2.9% after
entering a supply agreement with Apple Inc AAPL.O . L4N29T2J9
Earlier in the day, a slew of PMI data signaled some
recovery in eurozone growth this year, while U.S. data was
mixed. A report from IHS Markit showed that the index of domestic
manufacturing activity inched up to 51.7 in January, falling
short of economists' expectations, while a reading of the
services sector activity was slightly better-than-expected.
Big banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N and Bank of
America Corp BAC.N were down about 1%, tracking a decline in
U.S. Treasury yields. US/
At 10:28 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was flat at 29,160.36. The S&P 500 .SPX fell 0.18% to 3,319.55
and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up just 0.03% at 9,405.48.
Healthcare stocks .SPXHC dropped 0.9%, led by a 4.3% drop
in Intuitive Surgical Inc ISRG.O after results.
Energy stocks .SPNY fell 1.1%, hit by weaker oil prices on
concerns that the China coronavirus may spread, curbing travel
and oil demand. O/R
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.24-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.33-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 78 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 100 new highs and 26 new lows.