Dow closes lower, posts worst weekly performance since September

ISTANBUL

US stocks closed lower Friday as the Dow recorded its worst weekly performance since September.

The blue-chip index plummeted 305 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 33,476. It lost 2.8% for the week.

The S&P 500 lost 29 points, or 0.73%, to close at 3,934. It declined 3.4% for the week.

The Nasdaq was off 77 points, or 0.7%, to end the session at 11,004. The tech-heavy index posted a weekly loss of 4%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had closed higher Thursday as they ended days of declines due to worries of a steeper Fed rate hike.

Those fears, however, were renewed before the market opened Friday, when producer inflation showed an annual gain of 7.4% in November, exceeding estimates of 7.2%.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was up 2.6% at 22.87. The 10-year US Treasury yield increased 2.4% to 3.578%.

The dollar index rose 0.1% to 104.91, while the euro fell 0.2% to $1.0530 against the greenback.

Precious metals were up, with gold adding 0.3% to $1,795 per ounce and silver jumping 1.5% to $23.42.

Crude oil prices were in positive territory. Global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $76.63 per barrel for an increase of 0.6%. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was around $71.50, up 0.1%.