NEW YORK—Wall Street stocks fell sharply in volatile trading on Dec. 21, with the Nasdaq confirming it is in a bear market, as concerns of slowing economic growth led investors to flee stocks in high-valuation sectors such as technology and communication services.
The major U.S. stocks indexes accelerated declines in the last hour of trading after White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the United States and China might not reach a trade deal at the close of a 90-day negotiating window unless Beijing can agree to a profound overhaul of its economic policies.
