NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks sank in the week as investors continued to grapple with fears over a possible slowdown in global growth.
For the week ending on Dec. 14, the Dow decreased 1.18 percent, the S&P 500 fell 1.26 percent and the Nasdaq declined 0.84 percent.
The equities suffered steep losses on Friday with major U.S. indices fell about 2 percent.
The Dow slumped more than 550 points at its low during the session and dived to its lowest close since early May, led by declines in Johnson & Johnson and Apple.
Shares of Johnson & Johnson plunged more than 10 percent to 133 U.S. dollars apiece with heavy trading on Friday, after Reuters reported the company knew about asbestos in its baby powder for decades. The company denied the report.
Apple stock slid 3.2 percent after top analysts from TF International Securities cut iPhone shipment estimates by 20 percent.
The S&P 500 dipped 1.91 percent on Friday to its lowest closing level since April, with heath care and technology among the biggest losers.
After Friday's steep sell-off, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is now just up 0.11 percent for the year.
Investors were cautious that global economic slowdown would be on the horizon. Weaker-than-expected data from major economies triggered their nervousness that the world economy is likely to run out of steam sooner than they had anticipated, experts noted.
BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research last week forecast a slowing global growth in 2019, adding that it is more a benign slowdown rather than a "recession."
Global markets were in risk-off mode with investors simply trying to limit performance damage rather than reach for outperformance.
Meanwhile, a strong U.S. dollar also complicated the situation. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose in late trading on Friday.
"Today's lower market index seems to be derived from another day of strong U.S. currency. The U.S. dollar's strength must be monitored closely as too much strength in the dollar hurts global corporate profits," John Monaco, a trader at Wellington Shields & Co. LLC, told Xinhua.
Friday also marked the first time since March 2016 that all major indexes closed in a correction, down at least 10 percent from their 52-week highs.
Earlier in the week, the stocks traded mostly in an upbeat note as the market mood was boosted by latest trade progress between Washington and its key trading partners.
Officials from China and the United States discussed trade disputes between the two countries. In the calls, both sides exchanged views on the timetable and roadmap to push forward the following trade talks, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Chinese Commerce Ministry.
The news has brought a sigh of relief to investors in a volatile investing environment, said analysts.
Wall Street also digested some key data.
U.S. retail sales increased 0.2 percent last month, led by online stores, the Commerce Department said on Friday. The reading beat market expectations.
U.S. industrial production rose 0.6 percent in November, topping market forecasts as gains in mining and utilities offset declines in manufacturing, according to the Federal Reserve.
On other economic data, in the week ending Dec. 8, the advance figure for U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, decreased 27,000 from the previous week's revised level to 206,000, lower than market forecasts, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.
U.S. consumer price index (CPI), or cost of living, was unchanged in November after rising 0.3 percent in October, in line with market forecasts. Another closely watched measure of inflation, the so-called core CPI that strips out volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.2 percent last month.
