(CNN Business) – US stocks they fell into correction territory this Thursday because a massive sale continued due to the outbreak of coronavirus. The three main indexes of EE. UU. They are now on their way to their worst week since the financial crisis.
The shares have been sold worldwide throughout the week as investors worry about the spread of the virus.
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US stocks opened lower, with the Dow, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 falling more than 10% below their most recent peak, which puts them in correction territory. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 also fell into correction territory on Thursday.
They are still some distance from the bear market, which is defined as 20% or more below the most recent peak.
The Dow was 600 points or 2.3% lower within the first hour of trading. The S&P 500 also fell 2.3%. The Nasdaq, which was the only major stock index that ended Wednesday in green, fell 2.7%.
All three indices are on their way to their worst weekly percentage decline since the financial crisis of 2007-2009. For the Dow and the S&P, it promises to be its worst performance since October 2008, while the Nasdaq has not dropped so much in a week since November 2008.
Concerns about the coronavirus outbreak are increasing this week, and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. UU. expects cases to increase in the United States. The virus has now infected more than 82,000 people worldwide, with the vast majority of cases in China.
On the investment side, corporations continue to warn that they will not meet their first quarter earnings goals. Microsoft announced that this Wednesday night. Goldman Sachs said in a report on Thursday that he now believes that US companies will generate zero profits in 2020.
“What’s even more puzzling is that the news headlines have not yet been so bad,” said Paul Hickey of Bespoke Investment Group. “Right now, it is the fear of what could happen that is driving the markets instead of what is really happening.”
In fact, it is believed that the US economy is relatively more resistant to the effects of the virus, since it does not depend so much on commerce as its peers. The second reading of GDP in the fourth quarter left growth unchanged at 2.1%.
