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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 1.82%, S&P 500 down 1.47%, Nasdaq down 1.19%
(Updates to mid-afternoon, changes byline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major averages
tumbled more than 1% on Friday as the spreading coronavirus
outbreak along with sluggish U.S. economic data and a mixed
batch of corporate earnings fueled concerns about global growth.
The S&P 500 .SPX is down nearly 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 repatriated individuals
from China in California. Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N lost 2.38% and American Airlines
Group Inc AAL.O fell 3.50% 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.
Adding to the growth concerns was U.S. data showing consumer
spending rose steadily in December, but wage gains indicated
moderate growth in consumption and business investment
contracted, putting the economy on a slower pace this year.
Additionally, a report on manufacturing in the Midwest hit a
four-year low for January. "We wouldn't think this would be terribly prolonged but
certainly it matters today and the data outside of Amazon has
been certainly on the soft side," said Scott Ladner, chief
investment officer at Horizon Investments in Charlotte.
"So we don't have the buttress of super strong data to kind
of turn the narrative away from the obvious uncertainty that is
out there with this virus,"
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O was a bright spot, surging 8.39% 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 1.39%, the only sector on the plus side. Energy
.SPNY was by far the worst performer, tumbling 3.25%.
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 525.63 points,
or 1.82%, to 28,333.81, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 48.35 points, or
1.47%, to 3,235.31 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
110.89 points, or 1.19%, to 9,188.05.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 were on pace for their worst weekly
performance since early August.
Visa Inc V.N fell 3.70% after its quarterly revenue missed
estimates and the payments network warned of incentives hitting
2020 results. International Business Machines Corp IBM.N gained 4.74%
after it named a new chief executive officer.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
3.22-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.44-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 33 new 52-week highs and 12 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 48 new highs and 107 new lows.