US open: Stocks bounce back from losses as coronavirus remains in focus
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 10 Feb 2020
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks opened higher on Monday as news of some major corporate deals temporarily distracted market participants from headlines related to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
As of 1545 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.36% at 29,208.29, while the S&P 500 was 0.33% firmer at 3,338.73 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.57% stronger at 9,574.82.
The Dow opened 105.78 higher on Monday, bouncing back from some losses at the end of last week after a stronger-than-expected reading on the US jobs market for January was offset by warnings from companies around the world that the Wuhan coronavirus would impact their top and bottom lines.
Beijing revealed on Sunday that a total of 40,171 cases of coronavirus had been confirmed, while 908 people had died - including 14 Americans who tested positive aboard a cruise ship quarantined in Japan - and with the death toll now overtaking that of SARS, investors seemed to be taking a backseat ahead of the bell.
Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to speed up the development of drugs aimed at treating pneumonia-like viruses.
SpreadEx analyst Connor Campbell said: "Though still a few hundred points off of last week's 29,500-grazing record peak, the increase did keep the US index in that conversation."
While major indices were coming off their first loss in five sessions, Amazon rose 1.7% to a record high in early trade, breaking above $2,100 per share for the first time in the company's history, while Netflix and Alphabet also picked up more than 1% at the bell and Facebook shares edged 0.4% higher.
Xerox upped its offer to purchase HP from $22 to $24 per share, while L Brands was said to be closing on a deal that would see it offload the Victoria's Secret brand to Sycamore Partners.
Shares in shopping mall REIT Taubman Centers meanwhile was rocketing 53% after agreeing to be acquired bv Simon Property Group for $3.6bn in cash.
Casper Sleep shares were falling 6% and distancing themselves further from their 6 February IPO price of $12.0.
No major economic data was scheduled for release on Monday.
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