The tumultuous week for Wall Street ended on a bleak note on Friday, with significant declines in stock prices. Concerns deepened over the state of the banking industry, and anxiety mounted that it could potentially lead the economy into a recession.

As of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, the S&P 500 had decreased by 1.3% in midday trading, eroding its weekly gains. Similarly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 442 points, or 1.4%, at 31,803, while the Nasdaq composite had declined by 1.1%.

The global markets have experienced a turbulent week, with concerns intensifying following the occurrence of the second- and third-largest bank failures in the history of the United States, the Associated Press reports.

However, the markets had rallied just a day earlier when two banks in the United States and Europe secured tens of billions of dollars to strengthen their financial positions.

However, by Friday, optimism had started to dwindle and the duo was experiencing a decline once again. Credit Suisse shares in Switzerland plummeted by almost 10%, while First Republic Bank’s shares on Wall Street dropped by 26.5%, setting them up for a potential 69% plummet for the week, as reported by the AP.

Written by staff