Dow futures drops over 200 points downtrend as coronavirus cases jump

• U.S. stock index futures are pointing to a lower open on Wall Street Thursday as investors continue to worry about the spread of the coronavirus and look ahead to a slew of earnings.
• Around 6 a.m. ET, Dow futures indicated the average would drop more than 200 points at the open, while futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also lower.

US stock index futures are pointing to a lower open on Wall Street Thursday as investors continue to worry about the spread of the coronavirus and look ahead to a slew of earnings.

Around 6:15 a.m. ET, Dow futures indicated the average would drop more than 200 points at the open, while futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also lower.

Investors continue to monitor news on the coronavirus outbreak after China said it confirmed 15,152 new cases and 254 additional deaths. Those figures include the ones reported earlier by Hubei province under its new diagnosis methodology.

That brings the country’s total death toll to 1,367 as the number of people infected jumped to nearly 60,000, according to the Chinese government.

Meanwhile, Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest trade show for the mobile phone industry, was canceled Wednesday amid fears over the outbreak.

Earnings are also in focus for investors with Airbus, Kraft Heinz, Alibaba, Credit Suisse, Barclays, Nestle, and PepsiCo all releasing earnings before the bell. Companies reporting after the bell include Nvidia, Expedia, and Datadog.

Federal Reserve speeches by Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and New York Fed President John Williams on the economic outlook and monetary policy will also be of interest to investors.