Coronavirus whacks Dow but lifts disease fighting stocks

Stocks were slammed Monday as the number of people affected by the coronavirus surged over the weekend.

All three of the major averages fell at least 1.6 percent, finishing just off their worst levels of the day. The Dow, which dropped 454 points, is now slightly negative for the 2020 year.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
SP500	S&P 500	5908.56	-8.55	-0.14%
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	43589.76	+181.29	+0.42%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	18799.768097	-166.38	-0.88%

By midnight Sunday, there were 2,744 confirmed cases of the virus and 80 deaths, according to China’s National Health Commission. There have been five confirmed cases in the U.S., health officials said.

President Trump tweeted that the U.S. is "in very close communication with China concerning the virus."

"Very few cases reported in USA, but strongly on watch," Trump wrote. "We have offered China and President Xi any help that is necessary. Our experts are extraordinary!"

Travel-related names remained under pressure as the number of coronavirus cases continued to climb.

Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines were all lower, as were cruise operators Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
DAL	DELTA AIR LINES INC.	64.63	+1.00	+1.57%
UAL	UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC.	94.26	-0.37	-0.40%
AAL	AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC.	14.33	-0.13	-0.90%
RCL	ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP	236.94	+1.00	+0.42%
CCL	CARNIVAL CORP.	25.36	+0.28	+1.10%

Casino giants Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands, which have exposure to Macau's Cotai Strip, were also weaker. An estimate from Deutsche Bank showed total visitation for Macau on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25 was down 50 percent from a year ago.

Starbucks shares fell after the coffee giant said it all of its locations in China's Hubei province, where the outbreak occurred, will be closed through the week-long Lunar New Year. Last week, McDonald’s closed locations in the area and Disney announced its Shanghai and Hong Kong theme parks would be shuttered.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
WYNN	WYNN RESORTS LTD.	91.19	-0.03	-0.03%
LVS	LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP.	49.79	-0.12	-0.23%
SBUX	STARBUCKS CORP.	99.45	+1.19	+1.21%
MCD	MCDONALD'S CORP.	285.42	-5.47	-1.88%
DIS	THE WALT DISNEY CO.	114.35	+0.08	+0.07%

Medical mask makers Lakeland Industries and Alpha Pro Technology continued to surge. The diagnostic test kit producer Meridian Bioscience and drugmakers Novavax and NanoViricides also soared.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
LAKE	LAKELAND INDS	21.57	+0.43	+2.03%
APT	ALPHA PRO TECH	5.28	+0.04	+0.76%
VIVO	NO DATA AVAILABLE	-	-	-
NVAX	NOVAVAX INC.	8.11	+0.04	+0.56%
NNVC	NANOVIRICIDES	1.31	-0.01	-1.13%

On the earnings front, homebuilder D.R. Horton reported top and bottom-line results that outpaced Wall Street estimates and raised the upper end of its full-year home sales forecast.

Wireless communications provider Sprint reported mixed results as its postpaid phone churn rate climbed.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
DHI	D.R. HORTON INC.	163.66	+0.53	+0.32%
S	SENTINELONE INC	27.50	+0.43	+1.59%

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, were both trading lower by 3 percent near $52.55 and $58.85 a barrel, respectively.

Meanwhile, gold climbed 0.5 percent to $1,586.60 an ounce, closing at its highest level in nearly seven years.

U.S. Treasurys rallied, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down 7.9 basis points to 1.601 percent.

Markets were lower across Europe with Britain’s FTSE losing 2.3 percent while Germany's DAX and France's CAC both lost 2.7 percent.

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In Asia, Japan's Nikkei shed 2 percent. China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.