By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – Wall Street clawed back the bulk of losses Thursday as coronavirus-led selling cooled despite a surge in deaths and infections in China.
The S&P 500 fell 0.04%, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.03% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.19% .
A new method of diagnosing Covid-19 pushed the death toll above 1,300 and indicated that as many as 59,804 are infected, raising worries that the outbreak may be worse than many had feared.
China also confirmed 254 more deaths from disease and 15,152 new cases. But the White House thinks that China is still under-reporting cases and deaths and also noted it is not accepting offers of help from the U.S., according to published reports.
A rise in the number of infections outside mainland China exacerbated fears of contagion, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirming the 15th case of an individual in the U.S. with the virus.
Selling was seen across airline stocks as investors reassessed the risk to global travel from virus, with American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) down about 1%.
Energy stocks fell sharply, shrugging off a rise in oil prices amid growing hopes that Russia will support OPEC+ proposals for deeper production cuts.
In earnings, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) fell 2% after its better-than-expected earnings were overshadowed by its gloomy outlook on revenue.
The networking giant guided third-quarter annualized revenue to decline by 1.5% to 3.5%. Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) said the Covid-19 outbreak could keep businesses away from making major investment decisions.
MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) slumped 5% after it pulled its 2020 guidance amid concerns about impact of the coronavirus concerns. The company also said its chief executive Jim Murren would step down.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), meanwhile, climbed 2% despite detailing plans to raise $2 billion through an equity placing. Proceeds of the deal would be used to bolster the company’s balance sheet and for general corporate purposes.