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Europe Stocks Slump as Investors Await Coronavirus Answers U.S. Stocks Point Lower and Airlines Flag Up to $113 Billion in Losses: Live Updates
(32 minutes later)
European markets were lower, Treasuries went on another slide, and futures suggested Wall Street would sink when trading opens on Thursday — all signs that investors remain worried about the how coronavirus outbreak is affecting the global economy. The coronavirus could wipe out between $63 billion and $113 billion in annual global airline revenues this year, the International Air Transport Association said Thursday.
As carriers around the world halt flights and tourism sputters in the face of spreading outbreaks, the financial impact on the airline industry will be “almost without precedent,” said Alexandre de Juniac, the president of the association.
The low-end $63 billion figure is more than double the estimate that I.A.T.A. put out just two weeks ago. Since the outbreak began, industry share prices have fallen almost 25 percent, or about five times more than during the 2003 SARS crisis, according to the group.
“As governments look to stimulus measures, the airline industry will need consideration for relief,” Mr. de Juniac said, specifically citing taxes, charges and airport runway rules. “These are extraordinary times.”
On Wednesday, United Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to announce a widespread cut to domestic service. Southwest Airlines on Thursday said it expected the plunging demand to cost it $200 million to $300 million in the first quarter of this year.
European markets were lower, Treasury yields went on another slide, and futures suggested Wall Street would sink when trading opens on Thursday — all signs that investors remain worried about the how coronavirus outbreak is affecting the global economy.
Asian markets told a different story earlier on Thursday. They closed higher, keeping pace with investors in the United States, who had pushed stock prices up the day before in the wake of this week’s Democratic primary results.Asian markets told a different story earlier on Thursday. They closed higher, keeping pace with investors in the United States, who had pushed stock prices up the day before in the wake of this week’s Democratic primary results.
But the news about coronavirus’s spread is relentless, including reports that a cruise ship off the West Coast has passengers showing symptoms of the disease and that the governor of California had declared a state of emergency. But the news about coronavirus’s spread is relentless. A cruise ship being held off the coast of San Francisco has suspected links to two coronavirus cases, one of them fatal. The governor of California has declared a state of emergency.
And so pessimism appears to be back in control in European markets. In late-morning trading, the Britain’s FTSE 100 was 1.8 percent lower, and the DAX in Germany lost 1.5 percent. In late-morning trading on Thursday, Britain’s FTSE 100 and the DAX in Germany lost 1.5 percent.
The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes again fell below 1 percent on Thursday. The 10-year notes had never fallen that low until earlier this week, and they briefly rebounded on Wednesday, but the recovery was short-lived. Investors tend to buy up the 10-year notes, pushing the yield down, when they need a safe place to put their money. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes again fell below 1 percent. The 10-year notes had never fallen that low until earlier this week. Investors tend to buy up the 10-year notes, pushing the yield down, when they need a safe place to put their money.
The price of oil varied through the day, first rising and then falling 0.8 percent, ahead of a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna on Thursday.The price of oil varied through the day, first rising and then falling 0.8 percent, ahead of a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna on Thursday.
Earlier, Hong Kong led a broad rise in markets in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by stocks in mainland China.Earlier, Hong Kong led a broad rise in markets in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by stocks in mainland China.
Wednesday was a banner day after the strong showing of Joseph R. Biden Jr. in Democratic primary elections in a number of American states. His top rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, has fiercely criticized the banking system and has proposed taxes on stock and bond trades. The S&P 500 closed up more than 4 percent on Wednesday, recovering its coronavirus-related losses from Tuesday.
The mixed signals in stocks followed a banner day on Wall Street, which has been buffeted for more than a week by worsening news about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The new coronavirus has led countries to tighten their borders and has snarled the world’s supply chains, raising increasingly urgent questions about the health of the global economy. Both Google and Microsoft announced they would waive fees for some of their software capabilities to help businesses as more workplaces push employees to work from home amid the spreading virus outbreak.
But Wall Street found reason to cheer on Wednesday after the strong showing of Joseph R. Biden Jr., in Democratic primary elections in a number of American states. His top rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, has fiercely criticized the banking system and has proposed taxes on stock and bond trades. The S&P 500 closed up more than 4 percent on Wednesday, recovering its coronavirus-related losses from Tuesday. Google said on Tuesday that it would begin rolling out free access globally to advanced features of the Hangouts videoconferencing application that are typically reserved for a premium tier of G Suite.
Microsoft said it would make the Microsoft Teams function free for six months to make remote work easier. Teams is a collaboration tool and communication platform with chat, call and video-meeting capabilities.
The tech companies themselves have also been hard hit by the virus. Microsoft, which has suspended nonessential business travel, on Wednesday asked employees in the Seattle and San Francisco Bay areas to work from home until March 25 in response to an outbreak of cases in the area.
Google canceled its annual developer conference, Google I/O, which was scheduled for May 12-14.
And on Tuesday, Amazon emailed staff to say it had learned that an employee in one of its office buildings in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle had tested positive for the virus.
Reporting was contributed by Niraj Chokshi, Kevin Granville and Carlos Tejada.