Stocks end worst week since 2008

Stocks closed Friday with steep losses after a morning rally reversed into a nosedive to finish Wall Street’s worst week since the depths of the Great Recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 913 points by the end of Friday trading, falling 4.6 percent after briefly gaining earlier in the day. The S&P 500 plummeted 4.3 percent and the Nasdaq fell by 3.8 percent.

Friday’s losses capped the worst week for stocks since October 2008, according to CNBC, as the global economy falls deeper into an almost certain recession driven by the coronavirus pandemic.

Stocks rose Friday morning after notching meager gains Thursday amid a flurry of central bank actions to bolster the economy and stabilize volatile markets. The release of a $1 trillion economic rescue plan by Senate Republicans also helped fuel gains in overnight futures trading.

Lawmakers are racing to strike a deal on a fiscal stimulus package to stave off a staggering increase in layoffs and keep financially vulnerable businesses afloat. President Trump and lawmakers in both parties have also supported direct payments to Americans through the rescue package, but differ over the size and income thresholds for each check.