Stock slide accelerates on fear over virus impact

The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased its advance for the year as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first case of human-to-human transmission of the deadly virus in the U.S. United Parcel Service Inc., seen as a barometer of economic growth, tumbled after its profit outlook fell short of analyst estimates. Facebook and Verizon Communications also declined on results that underwhelmed investors.

A key slice of the Treasury yield curve inverted for the first time since October, which may be a signal that traders are concerned about policymakers' ability to counter headwinds as the coronavirus threatens to disrupt global growth. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the viral outbreak will likely hit the Chinese economy and could spill wider, but it was too early to judge what impact it would have on the U.S.

"The market maybe doesn't really know how to process the impact of this particular event," Kathryn Kaminski, chief research strategist at AlphaSimplex Group, said by phone. "People may be moving on headlines or there may also be general concern about not being sure what this means."

Global corporations are grappling with the rapidly spreading of the coronavirus that's threatening a key growth market. Tesla Inc. expects a production delay in China, McDonald's Corp. and Starbucks Corp. closed thousands of stores in the country while Apple Inc. is preparing for supply-chain disruptions.

Some other corporate highlights:

- Carnival Corp. plunged as a cruise ship owned by the company was blocked from leaving an Italian port after a passenger showed symptoms that raised concerns about a possible case of coronavirus.

- Microsoft Corp. rallied as its sales beat analysts' projections by more than $1 billion.

- Tesla soared after reporting record revenue that beat estimates.

- Coca-Cola Co. climbed on better-than-expected revenue growth.

--Later Thursday, Amazon.com Inc., Visa Inc. and United States Steel Corp. are due to report their results.

Elsewhere, China's offshore yuan briefly weakened past 7 for the first time this year. The pound jumped just before the Bank of England surprised the market by voting 7-2 to keep its key rate unchanged. Oil slumped as concern over the coronavirus outbreak prompted OPEC to consider an emergency meeting.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks:

- The S&P 500 fell 0.8% as of 12:48 p.m. New York time.

- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 1%.

-The MSCI Emerging Market Index sank 2.7%.

Currencies:

- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.

- The euro gained 0.2% to $1.1032.

- The Japanese yen appreciated 0.3% to 108.67 per dollar.

Bonds:

- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 1.55%.

- Germany's 10-year yield decreased three basis points to -0.41%.

- Britain's 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 0.542%.

Commodities:

- The Bloomberg Commodity Index decreased 1%.

- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.5% to $51.98 a barrel.

- Gold increased 0.8% to $1,588.20 an ounce.