Dow's 270-point tumble puts benchmark at risk of worst day in 6 weeks amid Turkey contagion fears

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading solidly lower in Friday afternoon trading, with the day's losses putting the benchmark on the verge of logging its worst daily decline since late June. The Dow DJIA, -0.72% was down 268 points, or 1.1% at 25,242, which would represent the worst point and percentage drop, should the decline hold, since June 25 when the gauge tumbled by 328 points or 1.33%, according to FactSet data. The slump for the price-weighted gauge, underlining a broad so-called risk off environment on Wall Street, comes amid growing concerns about the economic health of currency under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was re-elected in a snap vote in June and whose growing power has raised questions about the independence of the country's central bank. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.79% was down 0.9% at 2,828, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.61% slumped by 0.8% at 7,826. Turkey's lira TRYUSD, -12.7781% was trading at a fresh low against the dollar, with its declines intensifying after President Donald Trump earlier in the session said he would authorize doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the country.

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