By Noreen Burke
Investing.com - U.S. President Donald Trump blamed the media on Wednesday for the steep drop in financial markets, which have been hard hit this week by fears over the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Trump tweeted that “Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC Comcast & CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible.”
Trump also said he would give a press conference about coronavirus at 06:00 PM ET (2300 GMT).
Dow futures rose more than 100 points ahead of the open on Wall Street as markets attempted a recovery after a two-day rout.
The Dow tumbled 3.1% on Tuesday, bringing its two-day loss to more than 1,900 points after finishing Monday down nearly 880 points. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ also finished sharply lower Tuesday, while U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hit a record low.
Late on Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted Americans to begin preparing for a likely outbreak in the U.S. after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said U.S. containment of the disease was "nearly airtight."
Fears of a pandemic escalated on Wednesday after Asia reported hundreds of new cases from South Korea (including the first U.S. soldier to be infected) to Kuwait, while outbreaks in Italy and Iran spread to other countries.
Although the disease is believed to have peaked in China, where it first originated late last year, the resulting hit to factory output and consumer spending have threatened global economic growth in 2020.
--Reuters contributed to this report