Wednesday's Stock Market Open: US Equities Bounce From Two-Day Rout

Update: 2:40 p.m. EDT:

U.S. stocks turned lower in late afternoon trading as the market could not maintain earlier gains

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 64.88 points to 27,016.48 while the S&P 500 slipped 2.72 points to 3,125.49 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 23.48 points to 8,989.10.

Crude oil futures were down 2.4%.

Update: 12:05 p.m. EDT:

U.S. stocks traded higher as of noon on Wednesday, but below mid-morning highs.

President Donald Trump said he will hold a conference at 6 p.m. to discuss the coronavirus epidemic.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 191.74 points to 27,273.10 while the S&P 500 rose 23.57 points to 3,151.78 and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 101.84 points to 9,067.45.

In Europe markets finished mixed, as Britain’s FTSE-100 gained 0.35%, France’s CAC-40 rose 0.09% and Germany’s DAX dropped 0.12%.

Update: 10:45 a.m. EDT:

U.S. stocks continued to strengthen in mid-morning trade on Wednesday as the market tried to rebound from two days of heavy losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 424.4 points to 27,505.76 while the S&P 500 rose 48.87 points to 3,177.08 and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 168.3 points to 9,133.91.

The Commerce Department reported that new home sales climbed by 7.9% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 764,000 units, the highest such level since July 2007.

Original story:

U.S. stocks rose at Wednesday’s opening, as traders seek to rebound from two straight days of huge losses over coronavirus fears.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 139.43 points to 27,220.79 while the S&P 500 rose 18.71 points to 3,146.92 and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 63.98 points to 9,029.59.

The Dow shed almost 1,900 points in the first two days of the trading week. The S&P 500 has plunged 6.3% since Monday, enduring its biggest two-day rout since August 2015.

China has reported nearly 80,000 cases of the coronavirus, while South Korea reported 169 new cases, raising the country’s total number of infections to 1,146. Italy now has at least 325 infections with cases reported beyond the northern regions where the virus first emerged.

Spain has locked down a hotel in the Canary Islands with about 1,000 guests and workers after am Italian doctor was found to be infected. Greece and South America were reported their first cases.

On Tuesday, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned the virus is expected to spread in the U.S.

“The ultimate impact [of the virus] remains entirely unknown at this stage,” said Eleanor Creagh, a strategist at Saxo Capital Markets. “And uncertainty is the enemy of conviction.”

Investors need to be prepared for the risk of a market correction,” said Pramod Atluri, a portfolio manager at Capital Group. “It should not come as a surprise that heightened global uncertainty – like news about the further spread of coronavirus and its impact on global supply chains – can hurt valuations which in some areas look priced to perfection,” Atluri added.

Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network, said investors are expecting more bad news on the virus front. “There are signs in the electronics and auto industries that the slowdown is already happening, which will be a drag on growth,” he said. "This risk is largely behind the recent pullback in global markets.”

The economic impact of the virus could be long term.

“Unfortunately, I think this is going to turn into a full-blown correction,” said David Bianco, chief investment strategist for the Americas at DWS.” “It’s a material impact to our earnings outlook and it’s probably going to be another year of flattish earnings growth.”

Overnight in Asia, markets finished lower. China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 0.83%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.73%, and Japan’s Nikkei-225 fell 0.79%.

In Europe markets traded lower, as Britain’s FTSE-100 fell 0.5%, France’s CAC-40 tumbled 0.17% and Germany’s DAX dropped 0.35%.

Crude oil futures fell 0.74% at $49.53 per barrel and Brent crude shed 0.92% at $53.76. Gold futures dropped 0.15%.

The euro fell 0.21% at $1.0858 while the pound sterling slipped 0.55% at $1.2932.