Treasury yields, oil prices, and stocks all plunged Friday afternoon after a week of mounting concerns over COVID-19 and its effect on the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 255 points to close a week of ups and downs, while the S&P 500 went down 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite went down 1.9 percent. The indexes did all show gains from last week's record-breaking plunge.
Oil prices took a major dip of $4.72 per barrel as Russia and OPEC failed to come to a production agreement. Futures on the benchmark oil price of Brent crude settled Friday at $45.27, their lowest since 2017, The Wall Street Journal notes. Oil prices have fallen more than 20 percent since January.
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Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds also fell below .7 percent for the first time ever on Friday before rebounding a tad to close at .71 percent. It's more than just a reaction to the Federal Reserve Board's emergency interest rate cut, one expert told the Journal — "This is a flight to quality first." Traders expect the Fed to instill further cuts in the next few months.
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