Stocks tumbled into the closing bell Friday, with all three major equity indexes shedding more than 2.7% to end an ugly week and month on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 938 points, or 2.8%, ending the session near 32,977. Continued carnage in technology-related stocks left the S&P 500 index down 3.6% on Friday, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 4.2%. It also marked the worst month for the Dow and S&P 500 since March 2020, but the 13.3% monthly skid for the Nasdaq was its biggest drop since October 2008, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Investor were digesting disappointing quarterly results from Amazon.com Inc., which reported its first loss in seven years. The Federal Reserve next week is expected to pull the trigger on its first half-percentage point interest rate increase since 2000, as it looks to potentially tighten financial conditions dramatically to fight inflation that’s been running at 40-year highs. The central bank also could begin reducing its near $9 trillion balance sheet, reversing its large-scale asset purchases used to help stabilize markets during the COVID crisis.
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