Wall Street opens lower, all major S&P 500 sectors trade in red

CBOE Volatility Index is up more than 7% on Friday.
All 11 major sectors of S&P 500 are in negative territory in early trade.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Wall Street's main indexes started the last day of the week in the negative territory as investors seem to be opting out to stay away from risky assets ahead of the weekend. Reflecting the risk-averse market environment, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, is up 7.5% on Friday.

As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were both down 0.4% on the day and the Nasdaq Composite was erasing 0.45%.

Energy and tech shares underperform

Earlier today, China's Politburo Standing Committee said the turning point of the coronavirus outbreak in China had not come yet to hint that the number of infections was likely to continue to increase in the near-term. The latest data published by China’s National Health Commission revealed that the death toll in mainland China rose above 2,000.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the risk-sensitive Technology Index is down 1% on the day and the Energy Index is erasing 1.3% pressured by falling crude oil prices.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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