Markets Wrap Up Worst Week Since 2008

Dow falls more than 350, though a surge came late
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 28, 2020 3:07 PM CST
Markets Wrap Up Worst Week Since 2008
Specialists Meric Greenbaum, left, and Jay Woods work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The good news about the stock market from Friday is that it wasn't half as bad as Thursday and the week is over. The Dow fell more than 350 points as the markets wrapped up their worst week since the financial crisis of 2008, reports CNBC. At one point, the Dow was down more than 1,000 points, but a late surge pared the losses significantly. On the day, the Dow dropped 357 points, or 1.3%, to 25,409; the S&P 500 fell 24 points, 0.8%, to 2,954; and the Nasdaq actually rose less than a point to 8,567. Coronavirus fears have caused investors to ditch stocks in favor of safer havens such as government bonds, notes the Wall Street Journal.

"This has been really quick, really deep and, in some respects, unbelievable,” Mark Stoeckle, chief executive officer of Adams Funds, tells the Journal. "I believe the market will continue to selloff." On Friday afternoon, the Fed released a statement saying it was prepared to cut interest rates, and the move appeared to help at least a little with investor anxiety, per the AP. Still, the benchmark S&P 500 is now 14.5% below the record high it hit only 10 days ago. The US markets mirrored the performance of overseas markets earlier—China’s main index fell 3.7% and Germany’s DAX fell 3.9%. (More stock market stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X