Stocks fell on Friday, capping a tumultuous trading week on Wall Street, as coronavirus fears kept investors on edge.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished lower 256.5 points, or 1%, to end the session and the week at 25,864.78.
The broader S&P 500 dived 88.03 points, or 2.9%, to 2,935.91.
The NASDAQ plunged 262.72 points, or 3%, to 8,475.87.
The Dow was up 1.7% on the week, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, and the NASDAQ rose 0.1%. The benchmarks are still in correction territory, however, down at least 10% from their recent peaks.
Airline stocks rebounded on Friday, providing the broad market some support, after chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow said the White House is considering “targeted measures” to offset the negative impact on the industry from the coronavirus outbreak. United Airlines jumped 2%, while Delta Air Lines rose 1%.
Stocks remained sharply lower even after a blowout jobs report. The U.S. economy added 273,000 jobs in February, beating expectations of 175,000 new payrolls last month. The unemployment rate also fell back to 3.5%, matching its lowest level in more than 50 years.
The expanding health crisis kept investors on edge as global cases of the coronavirus infections surpassed 100,000 with at least 3,383 deaths around the world. In the U.S., at least 12 people have died of the disease. California has declared a state of emergency, while the number of infections in New York reached 22.
President Donald Trump on Friday signed a sweeping spending bill of an $8.3-billion package to aid prevention efforts and research to quickly produce a vaccine for the deadly disease.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury moved sharply higher, lowering yields to 0.78% from Thursday’s 0.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid $4.28 to $41.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up seven dollars to $1,675 U.S. an ounce.