U.S. stock prices plunged dramatically on Monday as the number of coronavirus cases outside of China spiked, raising concerns that further global economic problems are yet to come. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Monday down 3.56 percent, shedding 1,031.61 points, it’s worst decline in two years. During yesterday’s trading session the Dow erased all of the gains it posted since the start of 2020, and the index is now down 2 percent for the year.
The S&P 500 also saw sharp declines, falling 3.35 percent, the worst one-day loss for the index since February 2018. The S&P 500 also erased all its gains for 2020. The travel industry and chipmakers were especially hard hit due to their dependence on China. Many stocks in the resort industry also plunged steeply lower, due to a decline of income from the casinos in Macao and the fear of travel that is likely to persist in the industry for some time.
Asian stock markets also saw selloffs on Tuesday morning though the selling seemed to pause by the mid-afternoon. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped 3.34 percent while Australia’s ASX 200 dipped 1.6 percent. Both of China’s benchmark indexes were lower. Interesting, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.05 percent despite the increase of cases in the country’s borders.
Gold Prices Stumble
Though many analysts had expected the gold rally of the past five days to continue as traders shed riskier assets, the safe haven metal snapped its winning streak on Tuesday, heading lower, most likely, as traders looked to protect their recent gains. Also pushing gold prices lower was the downplayed risk of coronavirus that came from China, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester, despite the rise in cases outside of China. Mester specifically commented that the Fed will not be in a rush to react to volatile financial markets and that she will be monitoring the situation closely. Despite these comments, traders are pricing in an interest rate hike in the near future.
Gold futures were down 1.604 percent as of 2:24 p.m. HK/SIN, to trade at $1,649.70 per ounce. Silver prices were down over 2 percent to $18.465 per ounce.