US stocks fall amid virus fears despite Amazon surge

NEW YORK, Jan 31 — Wall Street stocks dropped early today amid worries over the coronavirus outbreak and despite a blowout Amazon earnings report that lifted the e-commerce giant’s value back above US$1 trillion (RM4.1 trillion).

Britain confirmed its first cases of the virus, the US upgraded its warning against travel to China, while Italy declared a state of emergency to fast-track efforts to prevent its spread after two cases were confirmed in Rome.

Stocks have fallen with the emergence of the virus as a major economic risk, although the trend has been jagged as markets try to guess the overall effect.

Equities rallied late yesterday after the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus an international emergency but did not recommend restrictions on the movement of people.

About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 28,603.02, down 0.9 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.6 per cent to 3,264.22, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.3 per cent to 9,271.23.

In earnings news, Amazon shares shot up 9.0 per cent after releasing quarterly earnings results for the holiday period that trounced market expectations.

The company’s profit in the final three months of last year rise eight per cent from 2018 to US$3.3 billion, as revenue grew 21 per cent to US$87.4 billion, according to the Seattle-based firm.

But shares oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron both slid about three per cent on disappointing results due to weak commodity prices.

Chevron reported a US$6.6 billion loss that reflected the hit from a previously-announced US$10.4 billion write-down of the value of its oil and gas assets. — AFP