Stocks Ended Sharply Lower on Trade Worries

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, as concerns over rising trade-related tensions between China and the U.S. weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 572.46 points, or 2.34%, to 23,932.76. The S&P 500 lost 58.37 points, or 2.19%, to 2,604.47. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 161.44 points, or 2.28%, to 6,915.11. For the week. the Dow fell 0.7%, the S&P lost 1.4% and the Nasdaq dropped 2.1%.

Oil futures end sharply lower on Friday on rising China-U. S. trade tensions and the highest number of U.S. oil rigs in three years. West Texas Intermediate futures for May delivery dropped $1.48, or 2.3%, to end at $62.06 a barrel. June Brent crude dropped $1.22, or 1.8%, to close at $67.11. WTI fell 4.4% for the week. Brent saw a 3.2% weekly fall.