The Dow dropped one-and-a-quarter percent, the S&P 500 shed nearly one-and-a-half percent and the Nasdaq tumbled one-point-six percent.
Earnings season kicked off Friday with results from big banks that failed to impress.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase tumbled 6.5% after its net interest income forecast fell short of expectations.
Net interest income is the difference between what a bank earns and what it pays out, explains Robert Conzo, CEO of The Wealth Alliance.
"So for many reasons and you could get, you know, bank by bank by bank is different - how they're managing their loan portfolios versus what products they have that's generating interest income. But the net effect for at least JP Morgan as well as Wells is that the net of those two amounts will not be what at least the Street expected it to be. Now, that doesn't mean that it's not good, it just means it's less than what the street expected - and they're getting beat up as a result of that."
In other company news, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel fell more than 4 and 5%, respectively, following a report that China's largest telecom firm is looking to phase out foreign chips by 2027.
Economic data this week suggested that inflation could be stickier than previously thought, prompting investors to push back their expectations about the timing of the Federal Reserve's rate cuts this year.
And heightened geopolitical tensions likely exacerbated Wall Street's selloff, as Iran threatened to take revenge on Israel for the April 1 airstrike on its embassy in Damascus.
