Wall Street fell sharply at Friday’s open after President Donald Trump said he had tested positive for COVID-19, with the three leading US indexes opening as much as 2 percent lower.
The Dow, the broadest stock indicator on the New York Stock Exchange, opened down 1.5 percent. The S&P, a barometer for the top 500 US stocks on the NYSE, was off by more than 1 percent. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index, which lists industry giants such as Facebook, Apple, Apple, Netflix and Google, was down 2 percent.
Trump said via Twitter on Thursday night that he and his wife tested positive after one of his aides, Hope Hicks, contracted the disease.
Trump's physician has said the President feels fine and is likely to continue carrying out his duties while recovering. The New York Times reported that Trump’s COVID-19 symptoms were “mild” and that there were signs that he had a “cold."