Stocks got off to a shaky start amid worries about the economic impact of coronavirus viral outbreaks in the world's second largest economy, along with the potential to harm global economic growth.
As of Monday, the death count rose to more than 80, and the number of those infected neared 3,000 confirmed cases, according to reports. In the U.S., at least 110 people were identified as under investigation for the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while a handful of infections were reported in other countries, such as France and Japan.
Travel-related stocks, including airlines, casinos and hotels, were among the hardest hit on Wall Street, while shares of sectors exposed to China's growth, including technology , materials and energy, pressured the markets.
The rush to safe-haven assets sank U.S. Treasury yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury by 7.9 basis points at 1.6012%, while that on the two-year dropped 4.5bp to 1.4408%.
Investors sought safety in gold, which was 0.7% higher to $1,582.65 an ounce, and government bonds.
In economic news, sales of newly constructed homes in the U.S. dropped 0.4% monthly in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 694,000.
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