Stocks Ended Sharply Lower amid Possible Recession Warning Sign

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Friday, as a round of disappointing economic data and an inversion of the U.S. Treasury yield curve stoked worries over global growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 460.19 points, or 1.77%, to 25,502.32. The S&P 500 fell 54.17 points, or 1.90%, to 2,800.71. The Nasdaq Composite declined 196.29 points, or 2.50%, to 7,642.67.

Oil futures declined on Friday, pressured by concerns about global energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery fell 94 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $59.04 a barrel, losing 0.4% for the week. May Brent crude lost 83 cents, or 1.2%, to $67.03 a barrel, for a 0.2% weekly decline.

The Treasury yield curve inverted for the first time since the last crisis Friday, triggering the first reliable market signal of an impending recession and rate-cutting cycle. The gap between the three-month and 10-year yields vanished as a surge of buying pushed the latter to a 14-month low of 2.416 percent. Inversion is considered a reliable harbinger of recession in the U.S., within roughly the next 18 months.

Data Friday showed the IHS Markit flash purchasing managers index for manufacturing in March fell to a 21-month low, with the U.S. flash manufacturing PMI at 52.5 in March from 53 a month earlier. The purchasing-managers-index readings for the eurozone also came in much weaker than expected.