Coronavirus fear returns to Wall Street as global markets slide
The US stock market followed the suit of other global markets by plunging further on Friday as coronavirus fears continued to grip investors.
The Dow Jones fell by one per cent, or 256 points, to finish the week on 25,865 points.
Meanwhile, other major indices, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, saw losses of 1.7 per cent and 1.87 per cent respectively, to end Friday’s session on 2,972 points and 8,575 points each.
It marked another torrid day as the number of coronavirus cases topped 100,000 globally.
The virus continues to spread in the US, where there were also 21 positive cases confirmed on a cruise ship off the coast of California.
Wall Street had been on course for another disastrous day with stocks down by around three and four per cent, by the indices parred some losses on news of promising jobs growth data.
The monthly report from the US Labor Department found US employers significantly beat expectations by adding 273,000 jobs in February.
The unemployment rate also fell back to near a 50-year low of 3.5 per cent.
The report also revised up estimates of job growth in January and December, finding 85,000 more than previously measured.
However, the surveys, which reflected data collected before the outbreak intensified, were not able to prevent another day in the red for Wall Street.
Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 saw £59bn wiped off its value on Friday as it sank by 3.6 per cent, or 242.88 points, to finish the week on 6,462.55 points – its lowest since July 2016.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was down 2.98 per cent, or 576.62 points to 18,746.51
Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s Dax index fell by 3.37 per cent and the French Cac lost 4.14 per cent as markets parred any gains from the week.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 shed 3.67 per cent for the day.