Stocks suffer biggest weekly drop in more than 2 years amid trade-war worries

pulse

March 23, 2018 8:06 PM

Financial stocks are the worst performers.

US stocks sank late Friday amid concerns about US trade policy.
The 5.9% drop in the S&P 500 over the week was the worst in more than two years.
Financial stocks were the worst performers on Friday.
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US stocks sank in trading on Friday afternoon, pushing the S&P 500 to its biggest weekly decline in two years amid concerns about US trade policy and retaliation from China.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 360 points, or 1.5%, to its lowest level since November 22. The S&P 500 fell 56 points, or 2.13%, while the Nasdaq fell 148 points, or 2.23%.

On Thursday, China announced planned to impose reciprocal tariffs on 128 US products that had an import value of about $3 billion last year.

US President Donald Trump had earlier announced new tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, with the aim of reducing the $375 billion trade deficit the US has with China.

The financials sector was the biggest loser among the 11 on the S&P 500. On the Dow, Boeing and Nike were the only stocks in positive territory.

The drop on Friday pushed the S&P 500 9% below its peak in late January, just short of the 10% threshold at which the index enters a correction.

Meanwhile, Dropbox soared during its trading debut. Shares of the cloud-computing company gained by as much as 44% in trading amid the broader market's weakness.

Treasurys rose slightly, with the 10-year yield up by less than 1 basis point, at 2.823%.

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