US stocks open higher as virus impact worsens

Wall Street stocks rose early Friday as markets tried to stage a second successive gain despite the mounting economic toll from the coronavirus outbreak.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 20,216.56, up 0.6 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.8 per cent to 2,429.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.7 percent to 7,271.01.