US open: Stocks head south as rollercoaster week carries on
US stocks followed Europe's lead and headed south at the bell as this week's wild ride for stocks continued.
As of 1545 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.64% at 26,376.23, while the S&P 500 was 2.45% weaker at 3,053.45 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.94% softer at 8,843.49.
The Dow opened 714.63 points lower on Thursday after seeing 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 were weighing 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.
SpreadEx's Connor Campbell said: "How things pan out on Friday morning may well be dictated by just how bad things get by the US close. The Dow has really shown a willingness to MOVE in the last week and a half, posting insane triple or quadruple-digit shifts that come to inform the Asian and European sessions."
"Investors appear to be caught between the brief bursts of optimism that tend to greet the various stimulus announcements we’ve seen, and the growing awareness that the coronavirus isn’t going away any time soon, and that its economic impact will hurt sectors far beyond those– like travel firms and commodity stocks – that immediately come to mind."
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 will talk 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, many analysts think a Warren endorsement of Biden would be the end of his 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 in 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 and Burlington Stores will report earnings on Thursday.