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U.S. stocks skid deeper on tech sell-off

October’s stock skid deepened losses Friday on a global sell-off in technology companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 525 points, or 2.1 percent, in morning trading — before an afternoon reprieve left it to close down about 300 points, or 1.2 percent, to 24,688.31.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 2.1 percent. The Nasdaq is having its worst month in 10 years — notching a 10.2 percent loss on the month.

The S&P 500 gave up 1.7 percent. All 11 S&P 500 sectors were down Friday; the index is having its worst month since 2009. The S&P dipped during the day but bounced back enough to barely escape correction at close.

Friday’s declines erased all of the gains for the Dow and S&P 500 for 2018 for the second time in a week.

Markets were buffeted all week by politics, interest rates, President Trump’s quarrels with the Federal Reserve and, not least of all, some big earnings reports and data from China that made investors think the global economy may have reached its growth limit.

Muted outlooks from blue-chip giants Caterpillar and 3M shook markets Tuesday, and the volatility carried through the rest of the week. Markets staged a big comeback Thursday, but Amazon.com and Google dampened the party after the market closed as the tech juggernauts reported profitable but less than spectacular revenue growth. (Amazon founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.) That sent shivers through global traders, resulting in Friday’s seesaw. Markets dropped dramatically but then staged a rebound with the help of a strong report on gross domestic product for the third quarter.