Stock slump threatens to erase weekly gains

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday, with major indexes erasing recent gains and pointing to weekly declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.31% fell 1.6% while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.96% lost 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.84% was down 1.2%. The day's drop took both the S&P and the Nasdaq into negative territory for the week: the S&P is on track for a drop of 0.5% over the period while the Nasdaq is down 1%. It would be the third weekly drop of the past four for both. At current levels, the Dow is up less than 0.1% on the week. Friday's drop, driven by both concerns over a potential trade war and a weak jobs report, erased a three-day rally that had seemed to indicate growing stability in the market.