New York (AFP)
The flagship index of the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell sharply Friday during the session, market players being more and more worried about the epidemic of coronavirus.
Around 19:15 GMT, the Dow Jones yielded 1.85%, to 28.325.79 points, after having released more than 2% a few minutes earlier.
The highly technological Nasdaq dropped 1.27% to 9,180.84 points, and the broad S&P 500 index fell 1.53% to 3,233.32 points.
The three main American airlines (United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines) announced Friday to suspend their flights to China after a recommendation of the State Department, Thursday evening, enjoining the American nationals not to go to the country where the new virus appeared.
"What the markets observe during epidemics is duration and direction. If new cases are detected in the United States, this will reinforce fears," observes Quincy Krosby of Prudential.
China reported 43 new deaths in 24 hours on Friday, for a total of 213 deaths. And the number of infected patients approaches 10,000 in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macao).
Many cases have also been reported in other countries, including the United States.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday that the epidemic is "a public health emergency of international concern".
On the New York Stock Exchange, the oil majors were particularly hard pressed. Exxon Mobil and Chevron, which also published their quarterly results before the opening, each abandoned more than 4%.
On the bond market, the 10-year rate of the American debt accentuated its decline, standing at 1.531% against 1.586% the day before at the close.
© 2020 AFP