U.S. stocks fell at opening Thursday as jitters returned over the coronavirus virus after California claimed its first fatality from the virus, and another outbreak has occurred on a cruise ship.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 2.52%, a loss of over 600 points, which cut deeply into the over 1,100-point gain from Wednesday.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also down at opening, 2.49% and 2.37%, respectively.
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The Grand Princess, a Carnival cruise liner, had 62 passengers confirmed with the virus, and the ship was rerouted to San Francisco. Meanwhile, workers at Amazon and Facebook in the Seattle area have been asked to work from home because of the virus. There have been 11 fatalities in the United States from the virus.
Thursday’s loss in the markets comes after stocks soared at closing on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 4.56%, gaining 1,180 points and erasing the over 700-point loss Tuesday.
The markets on Wednesday reacted to Joe Biden securing his place as a presidential contender after winning 10 states in Super Tuesday primaries, reassuring voters that he could become the Democratic nominee.
The markets also reacted positively to congressional leaders agreeing on an $8.3 billion response to the coronavirus. The measure passed the House by a 415-2 vote on Wednesday. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation soon and send it to the White House for President Trump to sign it into law.
