U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday, with most losses coming from a sudden move during midday trade. All three market averages were able to recover in later trading, but were not able to pull out of their slump by closing bell.
Several causes of the midday sell off include the festering coronavirus virus fear extended by U.S. hospitals preparing for a pandemic, or the Chinese Global times reporting that there was a sharp increase in virus cases in Beijing. Investors also speculate the drop as being no more than a technical error.
Here's how the market settled Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.38% or -12.96 points to 3,373.19
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.44% or -128.69 points to 29,219.34
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -0.67% or -66.21 points to 9,750.96
In Major Stock News, shares of E-Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) skyrocketed more than 22% after Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) announced that it will acquire the brokerage for $13 billion. Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) shares surged almost 25% after the company reported quarterly results that exceeded analyst's expectations. L Brands (NYSE: LB) lowered more than 4% after the private equity firm Sycamore Partners stated that it will acquire a 55% share in Victoria's Secret for $525 million, making the subsidiary retail brand private moving forward.
In Stock Sector News, most sectors declined on coronavirus fears on Thursday. The few that saw performance increases include Real Estate +1.15, Utilities +0.32%, Materials +0.13% and Consumer Staples +0.10%. The rest that had performance declines include Information Technology -1.01%, Health Care -0.62%, Communication Services -0.61%, Industrials -0.17%, Energy -0.17%, Financials -0.13% and Consumer Discretionary ended close to unchanged at -0.01%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, crude oil prices ended the day mixed again, although U.S. barrel prices and futures increased. West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) gained almost +0.40% and Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) declined about -0.30%. Gold (NYSE: GLD) prices reached a seven year high as prices increased over +0.50%. Finally, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) continues its long gain streak, with the DXY Index climbing +0.30%.