Dow futures drop as coronavirus fears continue

CNN Wire

5 years ago

Traders work during the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on February 27, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City. - Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower, joining a sell-off in most global bourses on fears the coronavirus will grow into a significant international health crisis. About five minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.8 percent, or about 480 points. The blue-chip index has fallen the last five days. (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)

(CNN) — Stock futures plummeted Sunday night — a sign that the markets may be in for another rough week as fears about the novel coronavirus outbreak continue to mount.

Dow futures dropped more than 500 points Sunday night, or about 2%. Within minutes, the drop eased up slightly and futures were down 260 points.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were down around 1%.

Sunday’s drop comes after the Dow had already closed down 357 points on Friday — its seventh-consecutive day in the red.

The coronavirus outbreak is weighing on the world economy. There have now been 85,000 reported cases of the disease, which has reached every continent except Antarctica.

Fears about the outbreak drove all three major US stock indexes last week to post their worst weekly percentage drops since the financial crisis. The energy market, crude oil, gold and Treasury yields all slipped last week, as well.