SFY - Recent Data Reveal The Economic Impact Of Coronavirus
By Kristina Hooper, Chief Global Market Strategist
Last week both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes hit all-time highs mid-week before falling significantly at the end of the week on fears about the novel coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) impacting economic growth. Concerns about the contagion were amplified by the release of US Purchasing Managers' Index ((PMI)) flash data for February.1 The Composite PMI dropped to 49.6 - its first time in contraction territory since the 2013 government shutdown. Manufacturing PMI fell to 50.8 from 51.5 in January, with the coronavirus outbreak being