Stocks Ended Sharply Lower, Closing the Worst Week Since October

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Friday, closing the worst week since October, after a volatile stretch of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 620.74 points, or 2.03%, to 29,982.62. The S&P 500 declined 73.14 points, or 1.93%, to 3,714.24. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 266.46 points, or 2.00%, to 13,070.69. The Dow lost 3.3% for the week and was off 2% for the month. The S&P 500 also lost 3.3% for the week and was down 1.1% for the month. The Nasdaq saw a 3.5% weekly fall, but was up 1.4% for the month.

Oil futures on Friday finished sharply higher for the month, finding support as traders remained hopeful that efforts to rein in global supplies will offset pressure on demand from the continued spread of COVID-19 and slower-than-expected vaccine rollouts. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery inched down by 14 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $52.20 a barrel, fell by 0.1% for the week, but rose 7.6% for the month. March Brent crude rose 35 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $55.88 a barrel, logging a nearly 0.9% weekly gain, and a 7.9% increase for the month.