emirates7 - US stock indexes closed sharply lower on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695 points, or 1.35%, to slide to 50,866 points.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index plunged 1,121 points, or 4.18%, to to 25,709 points.

The S&P 500 index shed nearly 200 points to reach Client 7,383 points, representing a 2.65% decline and marking its steepest since April last year.