Wall Street's weakness partly stemmed from renewed inflation fears after the Labor Department's report showed producer prices for final demand surging 0.5% in December'double the expected 0.2% rise from November. Year-over-year, prices held steady at 3.0%, missing forecasts of a slowdown to 2.7%.

Trump's tariff threats added to the gloom, including a 50% levy on Canadian aircraft for refusing to certify Gulfstream jets and new duties on goods from countries selling oil to Cuba. Traders also digested his nomination of ex-Fed Governor Kevin Warsh to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with concerns he may prove less dovish than hoped.

Gold stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances amid a nosedive by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plummeting by 12.6%. Semiconductor and computer hardware stocks also saw substantial weakness, contributing to the slump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Steel, airline, biotechnology and housing stocks notably moved to the downside, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1%, China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 2.1%. The major European markets moved to the upside on the day while the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9% the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.7% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5%.

In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground following the rebound seen on Thursday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note which moves opposite of its price, rose 1.4 bps to 4.24%.

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