Gov’t shutdown, recession fears fuel worst week for stocks in 7 years

It’s shaping up to be a not-somerry Christmas on Wall Street.

The stock market has suffered its worst weekly drop in more than seven years after Friday ended with another day of big losses.

It’s expected to be the worst December for stocks since the 1930s assuming there aren’t huge gains during the upcoming holidays, which isn’t likely since trading is usually sluggish then.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 414 points, or 1.8%, to 22,445 Friday and the Nasdaq dropped 195 points, or 3%, to 6,332. The benchmark S&P 500 index was down down 7% Friday and the S&P 500 fell 50 points, or 2.1%, to 2,416.

All of the major U.S. indexes are down 16% to 26% below the highs they climbed to in the summer and fall.

This week’s financial floundering was boosted by fears of a government shutdown Friday as the Senate considered a House-passed bill that would fund the construction of the Mexican border wall President Trump has been pushing for.

Investors went into the weekend before Christmas fearing a recession is on its way.