US close: Stocks close lower as coronavirus outbreak remains in focus

US stocks closed lower on Friday as investors digested the latest monthly non-farm payrolls data and remained focus on the spreading coronavirus outbreak.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.98% at 25,864.78, while the S&P 500 was 1.71% weaker at 2,972.37 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out of the session 1.87% softer at 8,575.62.

The Dow closed 256.50 points lower after recording heavy losses during the previous session as US stocks followed Europe's lead and headed south.

Airline stocks were still under pressure as market participants were still trying to decipher what the short- and long term impacts of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak on the global economy and corporate profits would be.

Energy was the worst-performing sector after oil prices dived more than 10% to multi-year lows following news that OPEC's allies had rejected additional production cuts.

Donald Trump also said he was considering enforcing further controls at its southern border in order to combat the outbreak, reigniting tensions surrounding migration into the States from Mexico.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note tumbled below 0.7% for the first time ever as investors continued to turn to safer assets amid fears regarding the outbreak. The USD was also on the defensive as risk aversion continued to dominate as global cases of the coronavirus topped 100,000 - with at least 3,383 deaths globally.

On the macro front, US non-farm payrolls in February blew the doors off analysts' estimates.

According to the Department of Labor, hiring jumped by 273,000 last month, easily surpassing the median forecast on the Street for an increase of 175,000.

Elsewhere, the US foreign trade balance came in at -$45.3bn in January, according to the Census Bureau - just ahead of the $-46.1bn estimated by economists

Lastly, consumer borrowing surged in December, as Americans turned tp credit cards to make holiday purchases, according to the Federal Reserve.

Total consumer credit increased $22.1bn, an annual growth rate of 6.3% and up 3.4% month-on-month. Economists were expecting a $15bn gain.

No major corporate earnings were released on Friday.