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| - Wall Street opened lower on Thursday after powering to a strong finish the day before thanks to solid housing data and receding fears over the virus outbreak in China. More than 2,118 people in the world's second-largest economy have died from the virus, which has infected 74,000 people in China alone and hundreds more in over 25 other countries. Nations have cut flights and closed borders with China in response, but waning concerns over the virus's impact fueled record closes for the tech-rich Nasdaq and broad-based S&P 500 on Wednesday, while the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average also posted a solid gain. The rally was also helped by US housing data showing a better-than-expected result, with new construction in January contracting just 3.6 percent, a remarkably strong start to the year. The market gains were pulled back slightly at the open on Thursday morning, as the Dow fell by 0.2 percent to 29,305.07. The S&P fell 0.1 percent to 3,381.41 while the Nasdaq decreased 0.2 percent to 9,795.60. Speaking before trading started, Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said the US economy was set to be "solid" through 2020 but he warned the new coronavirus outbreak could have a "noticeable impact on Chinese growth," at least in the first three months of the year. "Supply chains are very important, so to the extent that supply chains are disrupted by the coronavirus, that can show up in terms of inputs to the US economy," he said in an interview on CNBC. Among the biggest decliners were pharma giant Pfizer, down 1.1 percent, and insurer United Health Group, down 2.8 percent. Investors are looking forward to existing-home sales data from the National Association of Realtors expected on Friday, and new consumer confidence numbers to be released on Tuesday. cs/dw
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