Stocks in the U.S. and in other markets around the world are slumping following reports regarding the spread of the coronavirus outside of China in places such as South Korea, Italy and Iran. On Sunday, South Korea raised its coronavirus alert to the "highest level," while Italy has been the worst affected country outside of Asia so far, with seven deaths said to have been linked there to Covid-19. The Dow's dropped by as much as 1,000 points at its worst levels of the day, though it managed to finish off of those lows, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also plunged amid the risk off shift in sentiment.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Dallas Fed's manufacturing activity survey rose 1.4 ticks to 1.2 in February. The Chicago Fed national activity index rose 0.26 points to -0.25 in January.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Apple (AAPL) and Nike (NKE) fell about 4.75% and 4.3%, respectively, given their exposures to China in terms of both sales and supply chains. However, neither was the worst performer on the Dow, which is a distinction held by UnitedHealth (UNH), which dropped 7.8% in reaction not only to the broader market selloff but also to the Nevada Democratic presidential caucus win of Bernie Sanders, a leading proponent of "Medicare for All."
Airlines, which stand to suffer from reduced travel as the coronavirus outbreak worsens, were among the sectors hardest hit today amid the broad-based selloff. Additional pressure on the group came from Warren Buffett, who said on CNBC that while "not impossible," it is "very unlikely" that his Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) would acquire an airline outright. Major airline stocks that slid today included Delta Air Lines (DAL), American Airlines (AAL), JetBlue (JBLU), Southwest (LUV) and United Airlines (UAL).
Gilead (GILD) shares were a notable outperformer, gaining 4.6% after an assistant director-general at the World Health Organization touted the potential of the company's drug as a tool in combating the novel coronavirus outbreak.
In M&A news, The Wall Street Journal's Cara Lombardo and Dana Cimilluca wrote over the weekend that Intuit (INTU) is nearing a deal to buy Credit Karma for about $7B in cash and stock. The maker of TurboTax reported its quarterly earnings report after the close, and announced it acquired Credit Karma for around $7B in cash and stock.
Meanwhile, Mallinckrodt (MNK) shares plunged 18.5% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company has begun confidential discussions with creditors and is considering placing its U.S. generic-drug business into bankruptcy to address coming debt maturities and liabilities stemming from the opioid crisis. Following the report, other opioid-linked names including Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA), Endo International (ENDP), Mylan (MYL), Cardinal Health (CAH), AmerisourceBergen (ABC), and McKesson (MCK) traded lower.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was United Therapeutics (UTHR), which rose 7.8% after the company announced that preliminary analysis indicates that the INCREASE clinical study of Tyvaso inhalation solution met its primary efficacy endpoint. Also higher was VirnetX (VHC), which gained over 12% after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider Apple's appeal of a patent award the former had won.
Among the notable losers was Boingo Wireless (WIFI), which finished 1% lower despite Bloomberg reporting that the company is exploring a potential sale after receiving takeover interest. Also lower was Epizyme (EPZM), which fell 13% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow fell 1,031.61, or 3.56%, to 27,960.80, the Nasdaq lost 355.31, or 3.71%, to 9,221.28, and the S&P 500 declined 111.86, or 3.35%, to 3,225.89.
Apple
-14.86 (-4.75%)
Nike
-4.34 (-4.33%)
UnitedHealth
-23.415 (-7.77%)
Berkshire Hathaway
-10742.5 (-3.13%)
Berkshire Hathaway
-7.645 (-3.33%)
Delta Air Lines
-3.63 (-6.27%)
American Airlines
-2.38 (-8.55%)
United Airlines
-2.56 (-3.28%)
JetBlue
-1.23 (-5.97%)
Southwest
-2.44 (-4.32%)
Gilead
+3.25 (+4.66%)
Intuit
-11.27 (-3.78%)
Mallinckrodt
-0.925 (-18.05%)
Teva
-0.49 (-3.71%)
Endo
-0.065 (-1.07%)
Symbol now VTRS
-0.83 (-3.92%)
Cardinal Health
-1.58 (-2.65%)
AmerisourceBergen
-2.08 (-2.14%)
McKesson
-5.42 (-3.17%)
United Therapeutics
+8.33 (+7.79%)
VirnetX
+0.63 (+12.60%)
Boingo Wireless
-0.13 (-0.90%)
Epizyme
-3.24 (-13.02%)