Uncertainty around the coronavirus outbreak and an oil price war fueled a stock market sell off on 9 March that temporarily halted trading – and pharmaceutical stocks felt the blowback as much other industries. Drug ingredient supply disruptions, workforce health, manufacturing operations and global clinical trials are key concerns for the industry as COVID-19 spreads in Asia, Europe and the US.
The S&P 500 opened the day down 3.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 3.3% lower, the Nasdaq composite index opened 7.2% lower. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) opened the day down 5.9%. Those losses persisted throughout the day, as did the losses for individual drug companies, with the NBI closing down 6
