Stocks drop amid uncertainty over virus impact; Amazon soars

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street amid ongoing uncertainty about the economic impact of the virus outbreak that originated in China. The S&P 500 index fell 0.5% to 3,266 and could be headed for its first two-week losing streak since early October. Energy and technology shares were among the early laggards. Exxon dropped after its quarterly profit missed expectations. Amazon shares jumped after the company reported strong fourth-quarter profit and sales. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 204 points, or 0.7% to 28,654. The Nasdaq dropped 0.1% to 9.285. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 1.55%.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Stock markets turned lower again on Friday after world health authorities declared the virus pandemic that has spread from China to more than a dozen countries a global emergency.

Germany's DAX fell 0.3% to 13,116 and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.4% to 5,848 after new figures showed the country's economy shrank 0.1% in the fourth quarter. U.S. futures augured a slow start, with the S&P 500 dropping 0.3% and the future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.4%.

Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.7% to 7,334 as the midnight departure of the U.K. from the European Union loomed. While Britain will remain in a transition period that ensures no abrupt changes to business, the moment kicks off a round of trade negotiations with the EU.

For much of the world, the main focus was on the ripple effects of the outbreak of a virus first found in central China that has killed at least 213 and sickened nearly 9,700.

Shares were mostly lower in Asia after the World Health Organization declared the pandemic a global emergency. Markets in mainland China remained closed as the U.S....