Wall Street Extends Losses As Dow Loses More than 650 Points

Wall Street extended its losses on Monday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting 653 points in a shortened trading session to 21,792, continuing one of the worst Decembers on record. That's a decrease of 2.9 percent, adding to last week's fall of 6.8 percent. 

The market has been roiled by several factors; a partial government shutdown, the impact of President Donald Trump's trade war and other uncertainties present in the market, including an odd message about the health of the country's economy issued by Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin Sunday night. 

Stocks have taken a beating over the last month, with Wall Street having the worst decline since the Great Recession in 2008. The president has focused his ire about the falling stock prices on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, blaming policies he enacted. Last week, the central bank raised interest rates and indicated it would continue doing so next year given the strength of America's economy. 

"The only problem our economy has is the Fed," Trump fumed during Monday’s trading session. "The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch - he can’t putt!"

The Fed has raised interest rates four times in 2018, and signaled that it planned on raising them twice next year. 

Capping off the uncertainty for investors was an oddly-timed message from Treasury secretary Steven Mnuching who issued a bizarre statement Sunday night that said he had been in contact with executives at six of the top banks in the country to asses their liquidity. The treasury secretary asked the bank's executives if their banks still had the ability to lend to consumers and businesses. The message from Mnuchin was strange, as confidence in banks has remained high despite the wild markets.

"We continue to see strong economic growth in the U.S. economy with robust activity from consumers and business," said Mnuchin. "With the government shutdown, Treasury will have critical employees to maintain its core operations at Fiscal Services, IRS, and other critical functions with the department." 

The S&P 500 also fell by 2.71 percent on Monday making it the first Christmas Eve that the benchmark had booked a loss of 1 percent or greater. The tech-heavy NASDAQ also extended its losses as it ended the day more than 5 percent lower at 6,193. Last week, the benchmark crossed into bear territory for the first time since 2008, after losing 20 percent from its record high on Aug. 29. 

Markets will be closed Tuesday for the Christmas holiday and reopen on Wednesday. 

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