A look back at a wild week on Wall Street

Friday, October 5

The economy is stronger than ever, and the September jobs report proved it. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7%, a nearly 49-year low.

Investors began worrying that the Fed would speed up its interest rate hikes again in December and beyond to prevent inflation and the economy from going into overdrive.

That jolted the markets: The Dow lost nearly 200 points.

Monday, October 8

The quietest day of the week came on the Columbus Day holiday. The markets closed mixed, with the Dow posting slight gains. The S&P and Nasdaq moved a bit lower.

Tuesday, October 9

The markets closed mixed with investors increasingly concerned about global growth. The International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecasts for the US and China, citing the recent waves of tariffs the world's top two economies have imposed on each other.

Wednesday, October 10

The bottom fell out. The Dow sunk 832 points -- the third-worst point decline in history.

The S&P 500 posted its fifth straight decline, plummeting nearly 3.3%. Tech stocks were hit particularly hard, with the Nasdaq dropping more than 4%. That's the worst percentage decline since June 2016.

Why? Climbing bond yields forced a tech sell-off, and the spike in rates for the benchmark US 10-Year Treasury has investors wondering if the near-decade-old bull market may finally be ending. Investors are also worried about the rising debt and a trade war with China.

Thursday, October 11

It didn't get much better the next day.

The Dow lost another 600 points, extending the decline for a 1,378-point loss over just two days. The S&P and Nasdaq also slid, with all three major indexes losing more than 5% this week. The sell-off was sparked partly by a new report showing consumer prices rose less than expected in September.

But the market didn't close at its lows of the day, like it did on Wednesday. The rebound was helped by fresh reports that President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have agreed to meet next month at the G20 summit.

Friday, October 12

After a historically bad two days, Stocks bounced back on Friday, but still suffered their worst week since March.

The Dow closed up 287 points, or 1.2%, its biggest rally since August. The Nasdaq soared 2.3%, its best day since late March, as tech stocks rebound from steep selling. Despite the rally, all three major indexes suffered their worst week since March. The S&P 500 is down three straight weeks, the longest slump since the Brexit referendum in June 2016.

Let's block ads! (Why?)