BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The Coronavirus outbreak has jostled several industries and the most affected is travel and tourism. As U.S. has banned travel from European countries, markets are responding with a clear bear trend. Though China reported an ease in spread of the virus and deaths, several countries across the globe are still in panic.
Asian shares finished in the red, while European shares are trading lower.
Early cues from the U.S. Futures Point to lower open for Wall Street.
Producer prices and weekly jobless claims are the major announcements on Thursday, however focus will be on coronavirus impacts.
As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were down 1231.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 139.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 402.00 points.
The U.S. major averages climbed off their lows of the session going into the close on Wednesday, but the Dow and the S&P 500 ended the day at their worst closing levels in over a year. The Dow plunged 1,464.94 points or 5.9 percent to 23,553.22. The Nasdaq plummeted 392.20 points or 4.7 percent to 7,952.05 and the S&P 500 tumbled 140.85 points or 4.9 percent to 2,741.38.
On the economic front, the Labor Department's Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The economists are looking for consensus of 216K, unchanged from the previous week.
The Producer Price Index or PPI-FD for February will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.0 percent, while it was up 0.5 percent in the prior month.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be published at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the change was decline of 109 bcf.
Ten -year Treasury inflation-indexed securities or TIPS auction will be held at 10.30 pm ET. 30-year Treasury Bond auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the previous week, the level was $4.242 trillion.
The Fed Money Supply for the week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. The M2 weekly change was $2.6 billion.
Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday. Chinese stocks joined a global selloff, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index ending down 1.52 percent at 2,923.49, a two-week low. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 3.66 percent to finish at 24,309.07. Japanese markets fell deeper into bear market territory. The Nikkei average slumped 856.43 points, or 4.41 percent to 18,559.63, its lowest closing level since April 2017. The broader Topix index closed 4.13 percent lower at 1,327.88. Australian markets nosedived to hit over three-year lows. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slumped 421.30 points, or 7.36 percent, to 5,304.60, despite the government unveiling a A$17.6 billion economic plan to tackle the significant challenges. The broader All Ordinaries index plummeted 418.40 points, or 7.23 percent, to 5,370.90.
European shares are trading lower. CAC 40 of France is losing 375.20 points or 7.97 percent. DAX of Germany is down 637.92 points or 6.11 percent. FTSE 100 of England is sliding 343.51 points or 5.85 percent. Swiss Market Index is declining 479 points or 0.68 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is down 6.05 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
