US stocks fall as volatility returns

US stocks fell on the opening Friday as volatility returned and took back some of the gains made in the previous three days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 875 points on the opening, or about 3 percent, recovered some of the loss and edged up up briefly and then dropped again. S&P 500 declined 3.41 percent. The Nasdaq Composite lost 3.22 percent.

Dow futures fell prior to the opening Friday on fears the stimulus package passed by the Senate and awaiting action in the House may not be enough to prevent a recession.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, often called the "fear index", rose Friday. This suggests more turbulence ahead in the markets.

Another indication of the coronavirus taking its toll on the US economy was data released on Friday that showed US consumer sentiment fell to a three-year low, according to the University of Michigan.

The index of consumer sentiment dropped to 89.1 in March — its lowest level since October 2016 — from 101 in February. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a fall to 90.

March's decline in sentiment was the fourth-largest in nearly 50 years, according to Richard Curtin, chief economist for the Surveys of Consumers.

The negative opening ended a three-day rally. The Dow gained about 1,300 points Thursday, or 6.4 percent, to cap its strongest three-day gain since 1931. The average of 30 blue-chip stocks had gained about 20 percent in the last three trading sessions, meeting the definition of a bull market.

In early trading on Friday, Boeing, hit hard by the worldwide grounding of its top-selling 737 MAX after two crashes killed a total of 346 people, lost 10.57 percent.

Chevron and American Express also fell. Cruise ship companies Carnival and Royal Caribbean dropped.