The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 152.06 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 29,196.04 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 fell 8.83 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 3,320.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 18.14 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 9,370.81, Xinhua reported.
Hotel and airline stocks declined amid concerns over a novel coronavirus. Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands declined 6.14 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively. United Airlines decreased 4.36 per cent while Delta Air Lines dropped 2.72 per cent.
On the economic front, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut global growth projections on Monday, citing negative surprises in a few emerging markets, notably in India, and increased social unrest, but added that "global growth may be bottoming out".
The global economic growth forecast was downgraded from 3.4 per cent to 3.3 per cent for 2020. The US economy is projected to grow by 2.0 per cent this year.
On the earnings front, fourth quarter earnings in 2019 are expected to decrease 0.8 per cent from the same period in 2018. Excluding the energy sector, the earnings growth estimate is 1.9 per cent, according to the latest update by Refinitiv released last Friday.
The fourth quarter revenue is expected to increase 4.4 per cent from the same period in 2018. Excluding the energy sector, the growth estimate is 5.6 per cent, said Refinitiv.
( With inputs from IANS )