Dow pares losses to 350 points; S&P 500 narrowly avoids red

US indexes swung sharply between gains and losses, underscoring market sensitivity to trade policy, after posting their steepest two-day drop (Thursday–Friday) since March 2020.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.9%, or 349 points, to 37,965 points after approaching 36,611 points.

The S&P 500 fell about 0.25%, or 11 points, to close at 5,062, after briefly dipping to 4,835 and entering bear market territory. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1%, or 15 points, to 15,603 points after dropping to 14,784 points.

As for the European indices, the STOXX Europe 600 shed 4.5% to 474 points.

The FTSE 100 dropped 4.4% to 7,702 points. The DAX 40 fell 4.15% to 19,789 points, with the CAC 40 also plunging 4.8% to close at 6,927 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 tumbled 7.85% to 31,136 points. Similarly, TOPIX ended 7.8% lower at 2,288 points.

In the oil market, futures prices for standard Brent crude for June delivery lost 2.1%, or $1.37, to $64.21 per barrel.

Futures prices for US Nymex crude for May delivery retreated 2.1%, or 1.29, to $60.7 a barrel.

As for gold, the prices of gold futures contracts for June delivery fell by more than 2%, or $61.8, to $2,973.60 per ounce, the lowest price since March 11 ($2,949).