Dow, S&P 500 poised for biggest one-day drop in two months
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average on track for its biggest one-day percentage drop in about two months. The blue-chip average sank 3%. If it closes at that level, that would represent its biggest decline since Feb. 8, when it dropped 4.2%, just barely edging out a 2.9% drop from March 22. The S&P 500 fell 2.5% on Friday; that would also represent the biggest one-day slump for the benchmark index since Feb. 8. The 2.5% decline in the Nasdaq Composite Index was only its biggest drop since Monday. Recent volatility in the U.S. equity market has been extremely elevated, with major indexes posting triple the number of 1% moves, in either direction, that were seen over all of 2017. Friday is the fifth time in 2018 that the Dow has dropped at least 2%. It saw no 2% drops in 2017. The day's losses were driven by escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
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