Stocks finished sharply lower Friday, pushed downward by European markets and falling commodity prices.
In today's stock market, the Nasdaq dropped 1.3%, the S&P 500 fell 0.9%, and the Dow Jones industrial average slumped 0.7%. Small caps underperformed, with the Russell 2000 losing 1.5%. Volume was higher on both major exchanges, according to preliminary data.
The market was also pushed down after the latest poll of British voters on a June 23 referendum on whether to leave the European Union showed the "leave" camp with 55% of the vote vs. 45% for the "remain" side.
The benchmark 10-year German Bund yield fell to an all-time low of 0.011%. The German DAX index fell 2.5%, and the French CAC 40 was down 2.2%. The British FSTE was off 1.9%.
The British pound fell 1.4% against the dollar. The euro fell 0.5%.
Oil fell 3%, falling below $50 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures for July delivery fell $1.54 to $49.02. Oil stocks were among the hardest hit. The oil and gas drilling industry group slumped 4.6%. Only solar energy, with a 5.3% drop, was worse among the 197 industry groups.
Banks were also hard hit. American Depositary Receipts of Deutsche Bank (DB) fell 5.8% and were near a low since being first listed on a U.S. exchange in 2002. Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) were each down more than 2%.
