Markets Right Now: Stocks end miserable week down 7 percent
This photo made with a slow shutter speed shows the exterior of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday evening, Dec. 20, 2018. Stocks went into another slide Thursday in what is shaping up as the worst December on Wall Street since the depths of the Great Depression, with prices dragged down by rising fears of a recession somewhere on the horizon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 464 points, bringing its losses to more than 1,700 since last Friday. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)
This photo shows the exterior of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday evening, Dec. 20, 2018. Stocks went into another slide Thursday in what is shaping up as the worst December on Wall Street since the depths of the Great Depression, with prices dragged down by rising fears of a recession somewhere on the horizon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 464 points, bringing its losses to more than 1,700 since last Friday. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)
The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local):
4 p.m.
Another day of big losses is leaving the U.S. stock market with its worst weekly drop in more than seven years.
The benchmark S&P 500 index ended a brutal week down 7 percent Friday, led by big drops in former market favorites like Facebook and Amazon.
Major U.S. indexes are now 16 to 26 percent below the peaks they reached in the summer and early fall.
Investors fear a recession is coming, and barring huge gains during the upcoming holiday period, when trading is usually quiet, this will be the worst December for stocks since the 1930s.
The S&P 500 fell 50 points, or 2.1 percent, to 2,416.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 414 points, or 1.8 percent, 22,445. The Nasdaq fell 195 points, or 3 percent, to 6,332.
___
11:45 a.m.
Stock indexes are meandering up and down in midday trading as the market steadies following two days of steep drops.
Nike rose sharply Friday after reporting a strong quarter, but other companies fell. Amazon gave up 2.8 percent.
A series of sharp declines over the past week have left stocks headed for their worst monthly loss in nearly a decade. Major U.S. indexes are all down about 10 percent in December.
The S&P 500 index rose 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,469.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 108 points, or 0.5 percent, to 22,969. The Nasdaq fell 48 points, or 0.8 percent, to 6,478.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.80 percent.
___
9:35 a.m.
Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street as the market steadies following two days of steep drops.
Companies that make and sell consumer goods were doing better than the rest of the market in early trading Friday.
Nike jumped 8.1 percent after reporting strong quarterly results. Target also climbed 1 percent.
A series of sharp declines have left stocks headed for their worst monthly loss in nearly a decade. Major U.S. indexes are all down about 10 percent in December.
The S&P 500 index rose 8 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,476.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 120 points, or 0.5 percent, to 22,967. The Nasdaq added 18 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,543.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.78 percent.