US stocks open lower on virus concerns

US stocks opened lower Monday and slid in early trading, giving up some of last week's gains as investors continued to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.

In early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 370.34 points, or 1.56 percent, to 23, 350.24. The S&P 500 declined 1.15 percent. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.55 percent.

Later this week, major banks and some blue chip are scheduled to report quarterly earnings. The performance of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson will show how each has responded to the economic shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak and may point to near-term performance.

Many companies have pulled or revised earnings guidance downward. Sharply lower earnings may mean many stocks are now overpriced, leading to a sell-off.

Nevertheless, the S&P 500 gained 12 percent last week and posted its strongest weekly performance since 1974. The index rallied about 25 percent from it low last month, but is still down 14 percent for the year.

Yield on the 10-year US Treasury note edged up Monday to 0.748 percent. It settled Thursday at 0.722 percent. US markets were closed April 10 in observance of Good Friday.

Oil futures, a proxy for future economic activity, were mixed Monday despite an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut production. The exporters sought to gain market share and flooded the market, depressing prices as demand for oil fell and supply increased.

OPEC said the deal could reduce production 9.7 million barrels a day on May 1, the largest single cut in history. Final details haven't been worked out and it's unclear if US producers will slash production.

US President Donald Trump tweeted the deal will ``save hundreds of thousands of energy jobs in the United States" and called it ``great for all."

Many US frackers can't operate profitably at current prices and have cut production. Earlier this month, shale driller Whiting Petroleum became the first large fracking company to file bankruptcy following the crash in oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the standard for US prices, rose 2.55 percent to $23.24 a barrel in early trading Monday.

Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, slid 0.10 percent to $31.46 a barrel. So far this year, the price has fallen about 50 percent.