Stocks tumble on global worries as financials skid

Stocks plunged across all sectors in the heaviest trading of the year Friday as enthusiasm over a long-awaited increase in interest rates faded.

Several other negative factors combined to give the market its second big loss in a row, bringing the indexes lower for the week.

Bank stocks, which investors had bid up in hopes they would become more profitable as loan rates climbed, fell the most. Technology shares suffered more declines as a bad December got worse for Apple. The world’s most valuable publicly traded company sank again, bringing its monthly loss to 10 percent.

Overseas, Japan’s market sank after that country’s central bank made changes to a stimulus program that fell short of what investors were hoping for. Another drop in energy prices sent oil stocks lower again, and worries about weak global growth weighed on shipping and other transportation companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 367.29, or 2.10 percent, to 17,128.55. The S&P 500 index fell 36.34, or 1.78 percent, to 2,005.55. The Nasdaq composite fell 79.47, or 1.59 percent, to 4,923.08. All 10 Standard & Poor’s 500 sectors fell.

U.S. stock trading was even more volatile than usual Friday because of the simultaneous expiration of several kinds of futures and other contracts that investors use to place bets on indexes and individual stocks. As a result, Friday was the busiest trading day of the year for stocks.

The market ended a tumultuous week slightly lower. Stocks had rallied over the first three days and jumped Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade. The move was a vote of confidence in the U.S. economy. But over the next two days, stocks were hit by some of the worries that have dogged them all year, like weakness in the Chinese economy, slowing global growth and skidding prices for energy and metals.

Goldman Sachs fell $7.12, or 3.9 percent, to $175.49. ETrade Financial fell $1.13, or 3.8 percent, to $28.82. Citigroup fell $1.63, or 3.1 percent, to $51.21.

Tech stocks also slumped. Apple fell $2.95, or 2.7 percent, to $106.03. The stock has fallen 10 percent in December and has risen only three days this month. Microsoft fell $1.57, or 2.8 percent, to $54.13.

Transportation stocks also fell. Shares of J.B. Hunt Transportation fell $1.96, or 2.7 percent, to $70.62. Ryder System fell $2.59, or 4.6 percent, to $54.08.

Used car dealership chain CarMax disclosed disappointing quarterly results, as its profit and sales both fell short of analyst projections. Its stock fell $3.66, or 6.4 percent, to $53.49.

The news wasn’t all bad. Darden Restaurants, the owner of Olive Garden and other chains, climbed after the company raised its outlook for the year. Olive Garden sales rose and the company’s profit was better than analysts were expecting. The stock rose $4.11, or 7 percent, to $62.50.

U.S. crude fell 22 cents to $34.73 a barrel in New York. Oil is trading at its lowest level in almost seven years and has slumped over the last two days. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, fell 18 cents to $36.88 a barrel in London. Natural gas, which has sunk to 16-year lows as demand fell, rose 1.2 cents to $1.767 per 1,000 cubic feet.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Stocks tumble on global worries as financials skid."