Stocks Extended Historic Rout as Coronavirus Concerns Heated Up

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Friday, extending historic rout, amid worries around the COVID-19 outbreak’s potential to upend the global economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 57.28 points, or 1.39%, to 25,409.36. The S&P 500 fell 24.54 points, or 0.82%, to 2,954.22. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.89 point, or 0.01%, to 8,567.37. For the week, the Dow tumbled 12.4%, the S&P 500 was down 11.5% and the Nasdaq fell 10.5%. For the month, the Dow fell 10%, the S&P fell 8.4% and the Nasdaq dropped 6.4%.

Oil futures finished sharply lower on Friday, with the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic around the world expected to significantly dent demand for crude. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery dropped $2.33 on Friday, or about 5%, to settle at $44.76 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark saw a weekly fall of over 16%. April Brent crude fell $1.66 on Friday, or 3.2%, to settle at $50.52 a barrel, nearly 14% lower for the week.