Friday marked the worst day of the year for the stock market as the Dow lost 748.63 points, however, pharmaceutical companies stood out as a glaring exception, with both Pfizer and Moderna stocks on the rise. 

The new market figures come after researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology published a report pointing to a deadlier type of coronavirus called HKU5-CoV-2. 

Wuhan was at the center of a popular theory that claimed Covid-19 was manufactured in their lab and accidentally leaked to the public, although some contest that the virus occurred naturally. 

The research was posted in the scientific journal, Cell, on Tuesday and began to spark panic as the information eerily resembled the beginning months of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

After news of the scientific study circulated, Pfizer (PPE.N) shares rose by 1.54 percent, while Moderna (MRNA) soared by 5.34 percent. 

The stocks sharply contrasted with the rest of the market, which saw drastic drops. The S&P 500, which tracks the stock performance of the 500 largest American companies, dropped by 1.71 percent, marking its worst day in the last two months. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Market saw its worst decline of the year, dropping by 1.69 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell a whopping 2.2 percent. 

The startling stock declines coincided with fears of a new coronavirus, HKU5-CoV-2, that researchers say resembles SARS-CoV-2. 

Coronavirus and Covid-19 are often used interchangeably, however, coronavirus refers to respiratory viruses that cause diseases in animals and humans. 

Covid-19, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome are all coronaviruses. 

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused Covid-19, is similar to HKU5-CoV-2, meaning that there is a potential it could eventually spread to humans. 

The virus is also linked to bats and was found to use the same cell-surface protein as SARS-CoV-2. 

There are no known cases of HKU5-CoV-2, but the virus did infiltrate human cells similarly to SARS-CoV-2 in tests conducted by Wuhan researchers. 

Raising further concern, HKU5-CoV-2 closely resembled MERS even more, a virus that kills almost a third of infected individuals. 

There are very few reported cases of MERS, with only two Americans ever testing positive for the virus back in 2014. 

HKU5-CoV-2 is believed to be linked to minks and pangolins, the latter of which was also thought to be the animal that brought Covid-19 from bats to humans. 

Although the revelations may cause concern, some experts are urging the public not to jump to conclusions. 

Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, told Reuters, that the public has already developed more immunity to SARS viruses than pre-2019. 

Osterholm said the fear sparking from the study was ‘overblown’ and the research itself warned against exaggerating the risk to humans. 

Concerns surrounding another pandemic are also not the sole factor potentially contributing to a drop in the stock market. 

Economists have warned against the potentially devastating impact on the economy due to President Trump’s threats of tariffs. 

Inflation rates for January hit 3.0 percent, which is the highest it’s been since last June. The average inflation rate for 2024 was 2.9 percent. 

Increased inflation rates have led to higher prices, with Money Watch reporting eggs up 15.2 percent and fuel oil up 6.2 percent. 

The Federal Reserve is unlikely to lower interest rates with high inflation, which could also be contributing to drops in the stock market.