Wall St has worst start to year ever (Update)

epa05091643 Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the start of the trading day in New York, New York, USA, 7 January 2016. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT

NEW YORK:  U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, ending a volatile week with their worst five-day start to a year ever, as sliding oil prices and lingering worries about the global economy offset upbeat U.S. job growth.

Both the Dow and S&P 500 had their worst five-day starts in history, with the Dow falling 6.2 percent for the week and S&P 500 sliding 6 percent. The Nasdaq was down 7.3 percent this week.