AFP, New York :
Wall Street ended its worst week in a decade with more bruising losses Friday, and with the tech-rich Nasdaq entering a bear market amid worries about trade wars and a possible US government shutdown.
The Nasdaq and Dow suffered their worst weeks since the start of the global financial crisis as the US-China trade dispute returning to the forefront, and amid continued concerns about the Federal Reserve’s plans for interest rate increases.
“It has been a remarkably terrible trading week for financial markets amid concerns over rising US interest rates, decelerating global growth, Brexit uncertainty and chaos in Washington,” said Lukman Otunuga, a research analyst at FXTM.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week with a loss of nearly seven percent, after losing 1.8 percent or more than 400 points Friday, to close at 22,445.37.
Markets elsewhere were mixed, with European bourses flat or rising slightly, while Tokyo slid.
The Wall Street decline came as Washington teetered towards a likely government shutdown as US President Donald Trump dug in on threats to close if congressional Democrats continue to refuse his demand for funds to build a wall on the border of Mexico.
Thousands of US government employees could be furloughed without a paycheck right before the end-of-year holidays if Trump and congressional Democrats fail to strike a deal by midnight (0500 GMT Saturday).
Wall Street ended its worst week in a decade with more bruising losses Friday, and with the tech-rich Nasdaq entering a bear market amid worries about trade wars and a possible US government shutdown.
The Nasdaq and Dow suffered their worst weeks since the start of the global financial crisis as the US-China trade dispute returning to the forefront, and amid continued concerns about the Federal Reserve’s plans for interest rate increases.
“It has been a remarkably terrible trading week for financial markets amid concerns over rising US interest rates, decelerating global growth, Brexit uncertainty and chaos in Washington,” said Lukman Otunuga, a research analyst at FXTM.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week with a loss of nearly seven percent, after losing 1.8 percent or more than 400 points Friday, to close at 22,445.37.
Markets elsewhere were mixed, with European bourses flat or rising slightly, while Tokyo slid.
The Wall Street decline came as Washington teetered towards a likely government shutdown as US President Donald Trump dug in on threats to close if congressional Democrats continue to refuse his demand for funds to build a wall on the border of Mexico.
Thousands of US government employees could be furloughed without a paycheck right before the end-of-year holidays if Trump and congressional Democrats fail to strike a deal by midnight (0500 GMT Saturday).
