India, Feb. 21 -- With traders keeping a close eye on developments regarding the coronavirus outbreak, stocks are likely to move to the downside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 100 points.

The downward momentum on Wall Street comes as Chinese officials reported 1,109 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, up sharply from 349 cases the previous day.

South Korean health authorities also reported 52 new cases of the fast-spreading disease, raising the national tally to 156, while the number of confirmed cases in Japan increased by 23 to 728.

Stocks have recently shown some volatility in reaction to the daily headlines regarding the nu...