Dow drops more than 400 points into correction, posts worst week since Jan. 2016

Source: CNBC

The major averages posted their biggest weekly loss since January 2016.

The Dow and S&P 500 dropped 5.7 percent and 5.9 percent this week, respectively, while the Nasdaq pulled back 6.5 percent.

"The market has been priced for perfection ... and that leaves the market vulnerable to surprises. In this case, it's trade," notes one strategist.

Fred Imbert | Thomas Franck | Sam Meredith
Published 11 Hours Ago Updated 57 Mins Ago

Stocks fell sharply on Friday, adding to their steep weekly losses, as investors assessed the possibility of a trade war brewing between the U.S. and China.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 424.69 points to close at 23,533.20 — its lowest level since November — with DowDuPont as the worst-performing stock. The 30-stock index also closed in correction, down 11.6 percent from its 52-week high.

The S&P 500 declined 2.1 percent to 2,588.26, with financials pulling back 3 percent. It also closed just outside correction territory. The Nasdaq composite fell 2.4 percent to 6,992.67. The indexes, along with the Dow, had traded higher earlier in the session.

"People are a little worried ahead of the weekend. You can see that people have been buying a little bit of the options that expire next week which would give you a little protection over the weekend," said Patrick Kernan of Cardinal Capital. Kernan, who trades in the pit at the Cboe, said the sell off this week has been a lot more orderly than February's decline. "There's not lots of panic," he said.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/23/us-stock-markets-set-for-a-sharp-fall-at-the-open-amid-trade-war-fears.html

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Dow sinks 400 points as trade jitters rattle Wall Street again
Source: CNN



by Matt Egan @MattEganCNN
March 23, 2018: 3:53 PM ET

The Dow dropped 400 points and stumbled back into a correction on Friday as worries about a trade war with China intensified.

The selling followed a 734-point plunge on Thursday, after President Trump launched a crackdown on China's trade tactics.

The losses Friday put the Dow back into correction territory, 10% below its all-time high in January. The average has lost almost 3,000 points since then.

"We have this general freak-out. We don't know the next shoe to drop on trade," said Michael Block, chief strategist at Rhino Trading Partners.

Investors were further rattled by China's ambassador to the United States signaling it could ease Treasury purchases in response to Trump's tariffs. "We are looking at all options," Ambassador Cui Tiankai told Bloomberg News on Friday.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/23/investing/dow-jones-stocks-trade-war-china/index.html