US stocks open lower amid coronavirus fears

The market selloff continued Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 800 points in early trading.

The plunge extends Thursday’s rout when the blue chip index closed down 959.58 points, or 3.58 percent, amid uncertainty created by the coronavirus.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also fell in early trading Friday.

Stocks continued to trade lower despite a strong jobs report.

The US Labor Department said employers added 273,000 non-farm jobs in February, beating Wall Street’s estimates of 175,000 jobs.

Strong employment suggests solid consumer spending, which represents about 70 percent of the US economy.

On Friday, US President Trump signed an $8.3 billion package to boost prevention efforts and research to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus, also called COVID-19.