Trade war worries push Dow to worst week in 2 years

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - The Dow continued its fall Friday from the previous day to close with its worst weekly decline in two years.

Investors maintained their selling positions on Wall Street amid fears about a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

President Donald Trump announced tariffs of $60 billion on Chinese imports a day earlier. That prompted a quick response from Beijing that slapped $3 billion worth of tariffs on some American imports.

Tensions could escalate and threaten the global economy if other major economies take similar measures and adopt protectionist policies, according to Moody's rating agency.

The Dow Jones fell another 424 points, or 1.8 percent, to 23,533 points for a weekly decline of 5.7 percent -- its biggest weekly loss since January 2016.

The S&P 500 fell even more, losing 55 points, or 2.1 percent to 2,588. That index was off 6 percent for week.

The biggest loser was the Nasdaq, shaving 174, or 2.4 percent to 2,588 at the final bell. It lost a whopping 6.5 percent for the week.

The losses Friday followed a massive selloff the previous day as the indexes lost between 2.4 and 2.9 percent, having their biggest daily decline since Feb. 8.

The losses could continue if the U.S. and China extend tariffs against each other or other major or regional countries take similar approaches, according to experts.