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Stocks fell on Friday as worries over the coronavirus' impact on the Chinese economy outweighed the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average[2] traded 300 points lower, or 1%. The S&P 500[3] dipped 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite[4] also slid 0.6%. Those losses put the major averages on pace to snap a four-day winning streak.
China's National Health Commission on Friday confirmed[5] 31,131 cases of the deadly pneumonia-like virus in the country, with 636 deaths. These numbers have stoked worries about how China's economy — the second-largest in the world — will be affected. Chinese economic slowed down last year to 6.1% from 6.8% in 2018.
"China is really slowing and that's worrying people for sure," said Ed Hyman, chairman of Evercore ISI, on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street[6]." "People are not going out. They are not shopping, and that's what's hurting particularly China." Hyman added he sees 0% growth for the Chinese economy this quarter[7].
A Chinese employee wears a protective mask as he sits in the showroom of an Apple Store after it closed for the day on February 1, 2020 in a shopping district in Beijing, China.
Kevin Frayer | Getty Images
Haibin Zhu, a China equity strategist at JPMorgan, also cut his China GDP growth estimate to 1% for the first quarter.
President Donald Trump tweeted Friday that his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, is "focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus."
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