By
Medha Singh
(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were mixed on Wednesday
after the Dow and the S&P 500 indexes suffered their sharpest
four-day fall in more than two years on fears of the economic
damage from the global spread of the coronavirus.
Demand for defensive plays such as gold remained high as the
World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned that the rapid spread
of the virus to more places was inevitable, even as the outbreak
in China had peaked. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention also warned that a pandemic was likely.
As of Wednesday, death toll in Italy had crossed 19, new cases
in South Korea rose above 1,260, while first case of the virus
infection was reported in Greece and Brazil.
The three main indexes have fallen in the past four sessions,
with the Dow losing more than 1,900 points in the past two days,
while the S&P 500 has lost about $1.74 trillion in market
capitalization in the same period, according to S&P Dow Jones
Indices senior analyst Howard Silverblatt.
The S&P 500 is down 7.8% from its intraday record high hit last
Wednesday, while the Nasdaq is down 8.9% from the peak. If an
index closes down 10% or more from its closing high, it would
confirm a correction territory.
At 7:25 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 42 points, or 0.15%. S&P
500 e-minis were up 0.25 points, or 0.01% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis
were down 3 points, or 0.03%.
Among stocks, Walt Disney Co slipped 2.2% in premarket trading
on news Robert Iger will step down as chief executive officer,
handing the reins to Disney Parks head Bob Chapek.
Beyond Meat Inc rose 5.6% as Starbucks Corp said its Canadian
stores will start selling the company's plant-based breakfast
sandwich next week.
(Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.

|
|