The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 83.50 points, or 1.6%, to finish at 5,056.44, after being down as many as 105 points on the day.
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The Dow is down 403.32 points, or 2.3 percent.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 3.7 percent as China announced new rules restricting short selling, lifting a volatile market that has been a source of unease for investors globally.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks shaved part of early gains to close mixed as Wall Street pondered over a string of mixed economic reports.
U.S. stocks fell Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average posting its longest slide since 2011, amid declines in commodity producers while data showed continued progress in the labor market.
Trader Joseph Lawler works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, August 3, 2015.
“There are some openings to pick holes in this report”, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare, who nonetheless expects the US Federal Reserve to lift interest rates soon.
The Nasdaq is up 307.49 points, or 6.5 percent.
The Nasdaq biotechnology index sank 0.7 percent to a one-month low, after losing 4 percent Thursday. That’s brought its mean price in the past 200 days within 0.25 percent of its 50-day average, a convergence that hasn’t happened since January 2012. The company posted narrower profit margins in its first earnings report as a publicly traded company.
In corporate news, Cablevision (CVC) reported its latest quarterly results ahead of the bell.
On the commodities front, crude oil prices were mostly lower to start the last trading day of the week.
American Express jumped the most in four years after people with knowledge of the matter said ValueAct Capital Management has amassed a stake in the credit-card issuer and is considering pursuing shareholder-friendly changes.
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Half of the 10 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index falling 2.01 per cent to its lowest level since 2012.
