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US stocks staggered to eight-month lows Friday after weak economic data from China and Europe set off more worries about the global economy.
Mounting tensions in Europe over Britain’s impending departure from the European Union also darkened traders’ moods.
Major US indexes fell about 2.0 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as much as 563 points.
On the benchmark S&P 500 index, health care and technology companies absorbed the worst losses, reports AP.
Johnson & Johnson plunged by the most in 16 years after Reuters reported that the company has known since the 1970s that its talc Baby Powder sometimes contained carcinogenic asbestos. The company denied the report.
The S&P 500 index lost 50.59 points, or 1.9 per cent, to 2,599.95, its lowest close since April 2. The Dow retreated 496.87 points, or 2 per cent, to 24,100.51.
The Dow has fallen 10 per cent from its record high in early October, reaching a mark known on Wall Street as a “correction.” The other major US indexes were already in “corrections.”
The Nasdaq composite slid 159.67 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 6,910.66. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 21.89 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 1,410.81.
Johnson & Johnson dropped 10 per cent to $133 in very heavy trading. Its market value fell by $40 billion.
Among technology companies, Apple dipped 3.2 per cent to $165.48. Adobe skidded 7.3 per cent to $230. Industrial companies sank as well. Boeing lost 2.1 per cent to $318.75.
Oil prices again turned lower, as a slower global economy would weaken demand for oil and other fuels. Benchmark US crude fell 2.6 per cent to $51.20 a barrel in New York.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 1.9 per cent to settle at $60.28 a barrel in London.