US close: Stocks follow Europe's lead, give up most of Wednesday's gains
US stocks followed Europe's lead and headed south on Thursday as this week's wild ride for stocks continued.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.58% at 26,121.28, while the S&P 500 was 3.39% weaker at 3,023.94 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 3.10% softer at 8,738.60.
The Dow closed 969.58 points lower on Thursday after closing out the previous session well and truly in the green as investors shrugged off a warning from the IMF and chose to focus on news that former Vice President Joe Biden had picked up some key wins in Tuesday's Super Tuesday voting.
Travel stocks weighed on indices on Thursday after the International Air Transport Association revealed that passenger growth had slowed last month as a result of fears surrounding the Wuhan coronavirus.
The International Monetary Fund pledged $50bn to low income and emerging market countries as part of an effort to combat the outbreak, while the US also announced its own spending bill of $8bn.
The rate on the 10-year US Treasury note dropped to 0.94% but remained just above an all-time low hit earlier in the week.
In election news, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders talked with Elizabeth Warren, who will no longer be seeking the Democratic Party nomination. Sanders is still in the race for the leadership despite taking a hit on Super Tuesday, however, Warren's decision not to endorse either Bernie or Biden was seen as a hit to his own bid.
On the macro front, the US economy has continued its advance of late, according to the Federal Reserve, but still faces risks from both the upcoming presidential election and the coronavirus outbreak.
In the central bank's Beige Book, released overnight, officials said activity was growing at a "modest to moderate pace".
"There were indications that the coronavirus was negatively impacting travel and tourism in the US," the report said.
"Manufacturing activity expanded in most parts of the country; however, some supply chain delays were reported as a result of the coronavirus and several Districts said that producers feared further disruptions in the coming weeks."
Elsewhere, the number of people claiming unemployment insurance in States remained little changed during the previous week. According to the Department of Labor, initial unemployment claims slipped by 3,000 over the week ending 29 February to reach 216.000 (consensus: 215,000).
Lastly, factory orders slipped 0.5% in January, according to the Commerce Department - a much larger figure than the 0.1% decline predicted by economists.
Durable goods orders fell 0.2%, unchanged from prior estimates, while orders for non-durable goods declined a sharper 0.8%.
In the corporate space, H&R Block shares were 4.71% lower despite topping revenue estimates, while Burlington Stores were down 0.41% after issuing cautious guidance.