Stocks sink as bloody week wipes out 2018 gains

U.S. stocks took heavy losses on Friday as the prospect of higher interest rates and prolonged trade tensions with China sent major indexes into negative territory for 2018.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 558 points by the end of trading Friday, a 2.2 percent drop, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite fell 2.3 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

{mosads}Wall Street sustained heavy losses throughout the week as President Trump threatened to move forward with steeper tariffs on Chinese imports if Beijing does not make sufficient concessions in trade talks.

Stocks plunged Tuesday after Trump declared himself a “Tariff Man,” stressing he will not hesitate to raise tariffs on China if it does not agree to fundamentally change its trade practices. U.S. stocks have fallen by roughly 3 percent this week, the worst weeklong stretch since March.

Friday’s employment report from the Labor Department also shook traders, as the addition of 155,000 workers last month increases the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate hike when policymakers at the central bank meet again in two weeks.