Both major stock indexes nosedived on Monday in the worst day of Christmas Eve trading ever following tweets from President Donald Trump criticizing the Federal Reserve, according to CNBC.
The plummet followed a tumultuous few days in Washington, amid reports that Trump was discussing how to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 653 points, falling below 22,000, on Monday and the S&P 500 entered a bear market after tanking more than 20 percent from a previous high.
A bear market occurs after a drop of 20 percent or more following a recent high, and is usually associated with long-lasting declines in the stock market, according to CNBC.
The drop came after a 52-week high, CNBC reported.
The Nasdaq fell 2.2 percent, bond prices rose, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.74 percent.
Trump tweeted criticism of the Federal Reserve on Monday.
"The only problem our economy has is the Fed. They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch - he can’t putt!" Trump tweeted.
Officials spent the weekend trying to assure the public and financial markets that Powell's job as Fed chairman was safe.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., released a joint statement shortly after the market's close criticizing the president.
“It's Christmas Eve and President Trump is plunging the country into chaos. The stock market is tanking and the president is waging a personal war on the Federal Reserve — after he just fired the Secretary of Defense," the statement read.
Monday's market closed early amid light trading ahead of Christmas.
The next worse Christmas Eve market closure prior to Monday's was in 1985 when both indexes fell just over .6 percent, CNBC reported.
