US stocks swing back to gains, Dow up 330 on turbulent day
A late-afternoon rally reversed steep losses for U.S. stocks Friday, lifting the Dow Jones industrial average more than 300 points and capping a turbulent week on Wall Street that left the market with its steepest weekly slide in two years.
The big point swings that pummeled stocks reflected a return of volatility after an unprecedented period of calm. Until this week, the market had not endured a 5 per cent drop since January 2016.
“There’s a fair amount of volatility in the market, and our belief is the volatility is leaving investors riddled with stress and uncertainty, which is likely to continue,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
The swiftness of the market’s slide into a correction, or a drop of at least 10 per cent from a recent peak, was unparalleled. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, the benchmark for many index funds, took only nine days to fall 10 per cent from its all-time high on Jan. 26.