World stocks slip as coronavirus fears spur safe-haven buying

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 227.57 points, or 0.78%, to 28,992.41. The S&P 500 lost 35.48 points, or 1.05%, to 3,337.75 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 174.38 points, or 1.79%, to 9,576.59. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.75% and emerging marketstocks lost 1.05%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.49% as shares fell from record highs on Thursday. A raft of disappointing earnings added to fears about the global impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

NEW YORK: Global equity markets slumped on Friday as the fast-spreading coronavirus drove investors into safe havens, with gold hitting a fresh seven-year high and the yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond sliding to an all-time low.

The virus spread to hundreds of people in Chinese prisons, contributing to a jump in reported cases beyond the epicenter in Hubei province, including 100 more in South Korea.