Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
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7:23 am: Chart analysts saw weakening market before Monday’s drop
Technical analysts saw some weak internals in this market at the end of last week, which could be why the decline Monday is a little more severe than expected. Stocks were vulnerable to a decline. “The market is becoming very narrow in terms of stocks that have outperformed the S&P 500 over the last three months,” wrote JC O’Hara, chief market technician for MKM Partners, over the weekend. “Currently, this is the smallest group of winners since the 2007 market top.” —Melloy
7:01 am: Coronavirus fears increase chances the Fed cuts interest rates
The Federal Reserve may be forced to cut interest rates this year as worries about the coronavirus keep spreading, according to an Evercore ISI note to clients on Monday. “With outbreaks of the Wuhan virus in South Korea and Italy suggesting that it may be on the brink of morphing into a global pandemic we raise our estimate of the likelihood that the Fed cuts interest rates this year to 45 per cent,” strategist Krishna Guha said. “We would rather have a vaccine than a rate cut and fully recognize that monetary policy is not optimized for addressing this type of shock,” he said. —Bloom
6:55 am: Coronavirus cases outside of China jump, spook markets
Headlines over the weekend about a surge in coronavirus cases reported outside of China dented market sentiment to start off the week. South Korea said the number of people infected now totals more than 750. In Italy, the government said more than 130 cases have been confirmed along with three deaths. Iran has also confirmed more than 40 cases and eight deaths stemming from the coronavirus. These reports sent not only U.S. risk markets tumbling; they also dragged down global markets. —Imbert
6:40 am: Risk-off mentality to markets
Stocks not directly tied to the coronavirus fears are also very weak in premarket trading as investors sell popular positions in a risk off move. Netflix shares were off 4%. Amazon, Microsoft and Disney all dropped more than 3%. —Melloy
6:27 am: Many stocks dropping on coronavirus fears
6:22 am: Dow futures tank by more than 800 points on coronavirus fears
U.S. stock futures are falling sharply on Monday morning as investors dump riskier assets amid a spike in coronavirus cases outside of China. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down more than 800 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were down by 2.7% and 3.2%, respectively. South Korea raised on Sunday its coronavirus alert to the “highest level,” with the latest spike in numbers bringing the total infected to more than 750 — making it the country with the most cases outside mainland China. Italy has also reported three deaths related to the coronavirus and more than 100 cases. —Imbert
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