Stocks ended with scant gains after another wobbly day of trading on Wall Street Wednesday as the market Stocks closed sharply lower after a coronavirus variant from South Africa appeared to be spreading across the globe.

       The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 905 points. The S&P 500 index fell 2.3%, its worst day since February and the Nasdaq composite had its worst drop in two months. Travel and energy stocks were among the biggest losers. The New York Stock Exchange closed early at 1 p.m. Eastern.

       On Friday:

       The S&P 500 fell 106.84 points, or 2.3%, to 4,594.62.

       The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 905.04 points, or 2.5%, to 34,899.34.

       The Nasdaq fell 353.57 points, or 2.2%, to 15,491.66.

       The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 85.52 points, or 3.7%, to 2,245.94.

       For the week:

       The S&P 500 is down 103.34 points, or 2.2%.

       The Dow is down 702.64 points, or 2%.

       The Nasdaq is down 565.78 points, or 3.5%.

       The Russell 2000 is down 97.23 points, or 4.2%.

       For the year:

       The S&P 500 is up 838.55 points, or 22.3%.

       The Dow is up 4,292.86 points, or 14%.

       The Nasdaq is up 2,603.38 points, or 20.2%.

       The Russell 2000 is up 271.08 points, or 13.7%.