Stocks Sink On Ebola Fears And Mixed Economic Data

The first Ebola case in the U.S was diagnosed on Tuesday and sent stocks sliding on Wednesday. PIctured here is the hospital in which the Ebola patient is in isolation. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, G.J. McCarthy)

It's a spooky start to October trading: U.S. equities have fallen sharply into negative territory Wednesday as investors fret over mixed economic data, unrest in Hong Kong and the first diagnosed Ebola case in the U.S.

ADP said Wednesday that the private sector added 213,000 jobs in September - the sixth straight month of job gains above 200,000 - but this relatively good news was offset by the Institute for Supply Management's index of national factory activity fell to 56.6 in September, down from 59 in August. While readings above 50 indicate manufacturing growth, Wall Street observers expected September's figure to come in at 58.5. In an ordinary month, these mixed economic signals might not be enough to shake the markets on their own, but combined with pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, uncertainty over the impending earnings season and the first diagnosis of the deadly Ebola disease in the U.S., it was enough to send investors running for the hills.

As of mid-afternoon Eastern time on Wednesday, the Dow was down more than 230 points, or 1.36%, while the Nasdaq had dropped more than 63 points, or 1.42%, and the S&P 500 had slipped 22 points, or 1.12%. Meanwhile, the volatility index - which measures the fear in the market - was up more than 5% in mid-afternoon trading.

Among the day's most notable losers are the airlines: United Airlines, Delta Airlines and American Airlines were all down 2.7% or more on fears that the first diagnosed Ebola case in the U.S. will lead to fewer consumers wanting to travel. Even though the disease is not airborne - according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ebola is not spread through casual contact or through the air, and only through direct contact with bodily fluids of a sick person - travel-related stocks were in negative territory across the board on Wednesday, with the sea of red even hitting cruise line stocks like Carnival and hotel stocks like Marriott. Of the airlines, American was the biggest loser: it's down 3.09% compared to Delta's 2.54% decline, United's 2.31% drop and Jet Blue's 2.45% fall.

For Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, however, the Ebola diagnosis brought a stock surge. The pharma company is up a whopping 27.2% in late-afternoon trading as investors bet that it will be the company to come through with an effective treatment for the deadly disease. Just last week, Tekmira announced that it is working on a product that could specifically target the 'viral variant' responsible for this particular Ebola outbreak.

Also bucking the day's downward trend was automaker General Motors, which is up 1.64% after CEO Mary Barra gave a confident outlook for GM's future during the company's investor day on Wednesday. After reporting that GM's September sales increased nearly 20%, Barra told investors that her company is on track to achieve a 10% operating margin in North America and restore profits in Europe by 2016. GM's venture into positive territory after its investor day serves as a contrast to competitor Ford, which plummeted in late Monday trading as a result of its own investor day; CEO Mark Fields lowered the company's 2014 profit guidance and told investors that his company's European segment will record a $1.2 billion pre-tax loss this year.

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