Stocks have been sharply lower since the open with the accelerating spread of the coronavirus outside of China the focal point of markets around the world today. On Sunday, South Korea raised its coronavirus alert to the "highest level," with the latest spike in numbers bringing the total infected to more than 750, CNBC reported. In addition, Italy has been the worst affected country outside of Asia so far, with more than 130 reported cases and three deaths, reports have indicated. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have all plunged amid the risk off shift in sentiment.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Dallas Fed's manufacturing activity survey rose 1.4 ticks to 1.2 in February. The Chicago Fed national activity index rose 0.26 points to -0.25 in January.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Apple (AAPL) and Nike (NKE) are each down about 4% near midday given their exposures to China in terms of both sales and supply chains. However, neither is the worst performer on the Dow, which is a distinction owned at midday by UnitedHealth (UNH), which is reacting not only to the broader market selloff but also to the Nevada Democratic presidential caucus win of Bernie Sanders, a leading proponent of "Medicare for All."
Airlines, which stand to suffer from reduced travel as the coronavirus outbreak worsens, are among the sectors being hardest hit today amid the broad-based selloff. Additional pressure on the group may be coming from Warren Buffett, who said on CNBC that while "not impossible," it is "very unlikely" that his Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) would acquire an airline outright. While being interviewed following the release of his quarterly letter to investors, Buffett noted that his largest holding in the space is Delta Air Lines (DAL). Other names in the industry that are down today include American Airlines (AAL), JetBlue (JBLU), Southwest (LUV) and United Airlines (UAL).
Gilead (GILD) shares are a notable outperformer after an assistant director-general at the World Health Organization touted the potential of the company's drug as a tool in combating the novel coronavirus outbreak. However, BofA analyst Geoff Meacham maintains a Neutral rating and $72 price target on shares of Gilead, as he notes that the economics of addressing epidemics and pandemics are generally low. He contends that in a best-case scenario - where remdesivir is broadly efficacious and widely used - Gilead could receive a one-time revenue boost of about $2.5B, which compares to about a $12B increase in the company's market cap since the start of February.
In M&A news, The Wall Street Journal's Cara Lombardo and Dana Cimilluca wrote over the weekend that Intuit (INTU) is nearing a deal to buy Credit Karma for about $7B in cash and stock. The maker of TurboTax could announce a deal to buy privately held Credit Karma by Monday, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was NGM Biopharmaceuticals (NGM), which rose 18% after it said that aldafermin achieved its composite endpoint in a Phase 2 study. Also higher was VirnetX (VHC), which gained 10% after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider Apple's (AAPL) appeal of a patent award the former had won.
Among the notable losers was Kosmos Energy (KOS), which slid 15% after it reported quarterly results and announced the retirement of CFO Thomas Chambers. Also lower after reporting quarterly results was Epizyme (EPZM), which fell 15%.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 979.04, or 3.38%, to 28,013.37, the Nasdaq was down 362.90, or 3.79%, to 9,213.69, and the S&P 500 was down 109.78, or 3.29%, to 3,227.97.
UnitedHealth
-22.465 (-7.46%)
Apple
-13.87 (-4.43%)
Nike
-4.13 (-4.12%)
Gilead
+2.71 (+3.89%)
Berkshire Hathaway
-9250 (-2.69%)
Delta Air Lines
-4.26 (-7.36%)
American Airlines
-2.7 (-9.70%)
JetBlue
-1.34 (-6.50%)
Southwest
-2.58 (-4.56%)
United Airlines
-3.03 (-3.88%)
Intuit
-11.71 (-3.93%)
NGM Biopharmaceuticals
+3.45 (+21.56%)
VirnetX
+0.45 (+9.00%)
Kosmos
-0.72 (-14.50%)
Epizyme
-3.89 (-15.63%)