Stocks fall as fears about deadly virus grow; Dow drops 170

Health care companies led a broad slide in U.S. stocks Friday as increased fears over the spread of a deadly outbreak of coronavirus rattled markets.

The S&P 500 had its worst day since early October and snapped a two-week winning streak.

The sell-off followed news that a Chicago woman has become the second U.S. patient diagnosed with the new virus from China. Health authorities worldwide have been taking measures to try to contain and monitor the coronavirus outbreak.

“It really is a reaction to the widening nature of what's going on with the coronavirus,” said Lisa Erickson, head of traditional investments at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "People are concerned about, ultimately, the impact on Chinese growth and perhaps global growth."

The S&P 500 index fell 0.9%, to 3,295.47. The index had been down as much as 1.3% earlier.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 170.36 points, or 0.6%, to 28,989.73. It briefly slid more than 316 points.

The Nasdaq composite lost 0.9%, to 9,314.91. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks slumped 1.4%, to 1,662.23.

Before this week, the S&P 500 had only posted a weekly decline three times since October. -- AP