U.S. stocks took a heavy loss Friday ahead of a long weekend and the onslaught of earnings season, closing down 392 points, though the Dow Jones came well off session lows in afternoon trading.
The loss comes ahead of a slew of disappointing U.S. data, a plunge in oil to below $30 a barrel, and a sell-off in Chinese stocks added to mounting concerns about slowing global growth, CNBC reported.
The Dow had earlier fallen nearly 537 points, and spent the last hour of trading yo-yoing near 400-point losses. Tradng swung wildly in the last few minutes before the closing bell.
"I think some of that was overselling. Still, (about) 400 points is pretty serious," said Douglas Cote, chief market strategist at Voya Investment Management.
U.S. crude oil settled down $1.78, or 5.71 percent, at $29.42 a barrel, the first settle under $30 in 12 years.
