Stocks fell sharply Friday as the price of US crude oil fell below $36 a barrel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 194 points, or 1.1%, to 17381. The S&P 500 shed 1% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.1%.
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.7%, following three consecutive days of decline, taking losses for the week to 3.7%, Dow Jones reported.
US stocks rose slightly on Thursday as investors bought up downtrodden energy shares. This upbeat mood faded on Friday, though, with US-traded crude falling 2.1% to $35.98 a barrel in what has been a turbulent week for energy markets.
The latest lurch lower came after the International Energy Agency warned in its monthly report Friday of a continuing supply glut.
Energy companies in the S&P 500 weighed on the broader market, falling 2.2% in recent trading. For the week, the sector is off 5.4%.
High-yield exchange traded firms continued to slump Friday, with iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF falling 1.3%. The ETF has fallen 11% so far this year.
European oil and gas shares declined Friday, led lower by a 9.2% drop in Tullow Oil PLC.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.1% and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.6% following news that the chairman of China’s biggest non-state-owned conglomerate has disappeared. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1%, recovering from a 1.3% drop Thursday.
Meanwhile, iron ore prices falling to a decade low sent Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 down 0.2%.
Major stock indexes around the world have been under pressure this week. OPEC’s decision not to cut back on oil production has hammered the energy sector. Meanwhile, many investors remain on the sidelines ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting on Dec. 15-16, when Fed officials are widely expected to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade from ultralow levels.
