Coronavirus Update: Apple, Facebook, Amazon Lose $238 Billion Over COVID-19 Outbreak

The Dow Jones Industrial Average crashed by 1,031 points Monday -- its largest plunge in two years -- on horrific news about COVID-19's relentless and rapid worldwide spread. It took down Big Tech stocks with it.

Shares of Big Tech companies Apple Inc., Facebook, Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com, Inc and Microsoft Corporation, the five most valuable U.S. companies by market cap, together lost more than $238 billion in value Monday. These five firms comprise nearly one-fifth of the value of the S&P 500, which closed 3.4% lower as part of the broader market sell-off.

Apple, which has the largest exposure among Big Tech in China, saw its stock drop by 4.75% Monday. Microsoft lost 4.3%; Amazon yielded 4.1%; Alphabet dropped 4.3%; while Facebook fell 4.5%.

Chipmakers closed broadly lower. Nvidia Corporation shares fell 7.1% while Intel Corporation yielded 4%. Semiconductor-maker AMD lost 7.8%.

Along with the Dow's consumer services sector, Big Tech is taking big hits on the dreadful news COVID-19 is rapidly spreading in Italy, Europe's fourth largest economy in terms of nominal GDP; and South Korea, Asia's fourth largest economy, also in terms of nominal GDP.

Wall Street plunged after South Korea raised its COVID-19 alert to the “highest level.” As of Monday, South Korea reported 833 confirmed cases and eight deaths. COVID-19 cases in South Korea jumped by a total of 73 on February 19 and 20, tripling the number of cases in the country. It reported its first death from the coronavirus on February 21.

Italy also reported a sharp spike in confirmed cases. It reported an astounding casualty surge to 229 cases Monday from only 17 on February 21.

Wall Street stocks tanked Monday while markets worldwide tumbled in unison. Italy's stock exchange, the Borsa Italiana, lost 6%, its worst day in almost four years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,031.61 points lower, or 3.56%, at 27,960.80. The S&P 500 fell 3.35% to 3,225.89 and the NASDAQ ended the painful day 3.71% lower at 9,221.28.

Monday was the Dow’s biggest point and percentage-point drop since February 2018. The Dow also gave up all its gains for 2020 and is now down 2% for the year. The S&P 500 also had its worst day in two years and also saw its year-to-date gains wiped-out.

“The spike in infections in South Korea, mostly concentrated in the congregation of a single church, a surge in cases in Italy, and news of an outbreak in Iran, where the health care system is of uncertain quality and the government is secretive, has triggered fears that China's aggressive quarantining efforts won't keep the virus from spreading globally,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, in explaining Monday's rout.