Bond yields, oil prices, and stocks all fall after a tumultuous week

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.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

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.