Coronavirus Hits US Stocks, Bitcoin Climbs, Haven Status Unclear

The spreading coronavirus sowed a new bout of fear among investors, triggering a stock market sell-off and flight to safe-haven assets like gold and U.S. Treasury bonds, with 47 countries now reporting infections amid widespread reports of travel cancellations, shipment delays and business interruptions.

U.S. stocks fell for the sixth straight day, Treasury yields slid to a record low and gold prices were little changed close to a seven-year high. Bitcoin’s price climbed 1.4 percent to $8,902, rising along with popular cryptocurrencies including ether.

Analysts for the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs warned Thursday in a report that the virus could disrupt factories’ supply chains, damp demand for exports and ultimately stunt economic output in China, the U.S. and elsewhere. The firm warned the impact of the contagion could wipe out any growth in the combined profits of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

“We have updated our earnings model to incorporate the…