By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – Stocks moved off lows Monday, but remained under pressure as the Chinese death toll from the coronavirus outbreak continued to climb, raising fears the spread of the disease could accelerate and dent global economic growth.
The S&P 500 lost 1.2% The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.15% and the Nasdaq Composite was off 1.5%.
Travel and tourism stocks led the selloff on Wall Street on rising fears of contagion after China’s health minister said "it seems like the ability of the virus to spread is getting stronger."
The number of people killed in China by the coronavirus rose to 81, and nearly 3,000 believed to have contracted the deadly virus so far, according to media reports.
American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) were down more than 5%, while Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) fell 6%.
The disease has wreaked havoc for casino stocks as the number of mainland Chinese visitors to the gambling-rich region of Macau fell 80% on Sunday, from a year ago.
Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) fell 6% and Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) dropped 5%.
Energy stocks continued to follow oil prices lower as concerns that slowing air travel could keep a lid on jet fuel demand persisted.
"The (c)oronavirus situation appears to be getting worse, with many traders sensing the situation may be worse than it is being reported," said Mizuho. "If the (World Health Organization) reports that the situation is global, and is no longer a local phenomenon, risk assets, including crude oil, would most likely post another leg lower, possibly taking out $50.00 for the first time in over a year."
Ahead of a wave of earnings this week from blue-chip names such as Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), tech stocks continued to slide, keeping a lid on the bounce from session lows.