By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The S&P fell Friday, as reports of a second coronavirus case in the U.S. spooked sentiment amid fears that a further spread of the virus may dent global growth.
The S&P 500 fell 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7%.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the second case of the deadly virus that originated in China was detected in Illinois.
With more than 900 confirmed cases of the flu-like virus reported so far, fears are rising that the virus, in the event of widespread contagion, could hurt economic growth and experts point to the impact of global growth from Ebola in 2014, Sars in 200 and the Avian-Flu virus in 1997.
The virus jitters were most prevalent in the energy as stocks slumped after oil prices fell sharply on concerns about weaker demand aviation fuel demand amid a stumble in tourism and air travel.
American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) and United Airlines fell 4%, while Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) slipped 2%.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) also added to wave of selling, slipping 1% as on report that the aircraft maker was mulling further cuts to its 787 Dreamliner production.
Tech was an exception to the selloff, staying just above the flatline, led by a surge in Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) on bullish quarterly results a day earlier.
American Express (NYSE:AXP) also reported results that beat on both the top and bottom lines, sending its shares about 3% higher.