Stocks of Nevada casinos suffered consistently throughout last week as threats related to the novel Coronavirus kept the world under their grip.

Casino industry suffers across the globe

The casino industry in Southeast Asia has suffered a major slump because of these recent outbreaks in Coronavirus (COVID-19). Stocks with exposure to this region, especially in Macau, fared badly at the stock markets as their prices fell rapidly. However, the problem has now come closer to home as a 55-year-old man was recently tested positive for the virus. He is kept in isolation in the southern Nevada region. The man reportedly traveled to Washington State recently where he was infected from the virus.

Casino operator stocks have been tumbling fast after the news. For instance, the shares of Red Rock Resorts fell by a sharp 11.3% to reach $17.03 recently. The stocks then tumbled further to $16.52, marking a 13.86% decline. The stock of MGM Resorts International also dropped 8.7% in early trades to reach $21.28. It continued to sustain the decline, falling 3% more to reach $20.60.

The stocks of Boyd Gaming reached $22.43 with a 9.3% fall. Wynn Resorts shares were trading at $95.62 after a 9.5% fall. Las Vegas Sands suffered a relatively small decline of 4.14% and its shares were trading at $54.88.

Dow Jones suffers as well

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by nearly 1000 points which erased the 1200-point gain from Wednesday. According to Mark Haefele, the chief investment officer of UBS Global Wealth Management, the markets are expected to remain volatile for some time. He said,

“The unfolding nature of the coronavirus threat—both real and perceived—is not yet quantifiable, and, as such, the current global policy response can’t immediately be judged as sufficient or insufficient for restoring investor confidence in the short term.”

The news of an Oregon casino employee testing positive for the virus recently pushed the premises to shut down temporarily for sanitization. Though the scare has not reached Nevada casinos yet, the number of people sporting masks is already on the rise. Casinos in Macau have to suffer the worst fate in the world as they were forced to shut down for at least 15 days. This led to a staggering 87.8% fall in revenue for the month of February, year-on-year. South Korea’s Kangwon Casino is also shut down till March 9, which could cost it at least $50 million. Vegas casinos are still bracing for impact.