Coronavirus plunge wipes more than $200 billion from Big Tech stocks

Shares of tech giants took a nose dive on Monday after a surge in coronavirus cases renewed fears of a global economic slowdown. Altogether, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Google — six of the most valuable U.S. companies — have collectively lost around $230 billion in value as part of a broader market plunge, according to a report form CNBC.

The plunge was spurred by news that the coronavirus outbreak is spreading rapidly outside China in countries such as South Korea, Iran and Italy. These five tech companies make up nearly one-fifth of the value of the S&P 500, which itself is down more than 2.6%.

U.S. stocks on Monday plunged after South Korea raised its coronavirus alert to the “highest level.” Italy also reported a steep increase in confirmed cases. The flu-like coronavirus, named COVID-19, has affected nearly 80,000 people globally, though most of those cases are found in China.