U.S. equity markets turned negative for the year on Friday as the Russell 3000 index dropped 2.9%, bringing the year-to-date return to -2.7%.
Friday marked the end of a week where volatility returned to U.S. equity markets on concerns about economic growth in China, currency fluctuations and uncertainty around the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates.
It was the biggest weekly loss for the Russell 3000 since September 2011, and the first time it closed in the red for the year since March.
The blue chip S&P 500 was down even further, 5.7% for the week and 2.98% for the year.
The sell-off in equity markets spanned the globe Friday — the Euro Stoxx 600 was off 3.3%, China's Shanghai Composite index was down 4.3% and Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 3%.
European stocks are off nearly 13% from their highs earlier in April, but the Stoxx 600 is still up 8.3% year-to-date.
Not surprisingly, U.S. Treasuries had their best week since March. Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields fell 15 basis points to 2.04%. Front-month gold futures rose 0.52% to $1,159 per ounce on Friday, up 4.1% for the week.
And while the CBOE S&P 500 VIX index more than doubled during the week, it closed Aug. 14 at only 12.83.