Dow skids nearly 700 points to new session lows Friday

U.S. stocks were tumbling to new session lows Friday afternoon after a strong jobs report for September reinforced a view on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve will keep tightening financial conditions to tame high inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 688 points, or 2.3%, near 29,240, after setting a new session low of 29,239.48. The S&P 500 index was down 2.9% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was 3.9% lower, but all three equity benchmarks still on pace for weekly gains after a strong two-day surge to kick off the 4th quarter. The stock market will remain open for regular business on Monday, Oct. 10 for the Columbus Day, but the bond market will observe the federal holiday, which is also known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

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