By
Steve Muchoki
April 16th, 2024
Dow Futures dropped 400 after a report of the first coronavirus case in Northern California, of unknown origin. The drop has come even after Donald Trump gave assurances to the investors that the virus is under control and there is no call for alarm.
The Dow Futures dropped 400 points in the early hours of trading on Thursday, and it’s indicating a further drop after the first coronavirus case of unknown origin was reported in the U.S. Northern California. The CDC confirmed it does not have a clue how the patient contracted the deadly virus, hence indicating further community spread.
Since the beginning of the week, the Dow Jones Futures have been bleeding out at a fast rate following investors backing off due to the fears caused by coronavirus spread. At the time of writing, the stocks were trading at 26,959, having broken the yesterday’s support level.
Dow Futures and Coronavirus in U.S.
All chart indicators in the Dow Jones higher time frames are giving a downward trend that has been very dominant in the past few days. With coronavirus outbreak outside mainland China spreading fast, the biggest losers continue being the stock market that is deemed as a riskier investment.
Now fueled by the new coronavirus case of unknown origin, investors’ confidence in the stock market is expected to drop significantly. Massive drop is then awaiting the major stock markets not only in the US but also globally as a whole.
Hospitals in the greater California region are filling up with people having flu and wanting to get a test to confirm the coronavirus. The fears on the ground is real and gaining traction all over the world, hence the fears in the stock market increasing despite the assurances from the government.
To make matters worse, South Korea, which has seen the largest number of reported cases outside China, so far confirmed 334 new cases as of Thursday morning bringing the total confirmed cases to1595. A number that is so familiar with China a few weeks ago. Italy is also on the watch-list as the number of confirmed cases continues rising.
China is currently leading the long list with over 70,000 confirmed cases and the U.S. having 15 confirmed cases. Although a huge difference, due to the devastating effect that the virus has inflicted on the Chinese people, people are opting to remain indoors and stacking up food just in case.
Analysts are forecasting a dim future for the stock market if the scenario on the ground continues worsening. S&P 500 futures and NASDAQ 100 futures are also among those stocks hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, where they are indicating possible plunging in the near future.