A head-spinning, jaw-dropping 10 days in the markets

Small stocks that make up the Russell 2000 fall into a bear market — the first major US index to tumble 20% from its peak. The Dow falls 508 points as President Trump worries Wall Street that he will interfere with the Federal Reserve's independence. He tweets, "it is incredible that with a very strong dollar and virtually no inflation, the outside world blowing up around us, Paris is burning and China way down, the Fed is even considering yet another interest rate hike. Take the Victory!" Stocks are now having their worst December since the Great Depression.

The Dow closes 82 points higher, but stocks trade in a 412-point range as investors try to gauge what the Federal Reserve will announce at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday.

Stocks trade up and down in a wild session. The Dow rises as much as 382 points after the Federal Reserve hikes rates — but then proceeds to tumble 352 points to the lowest level of the year. Investors worry that the Fed signals a more aggressive stance than Wall Street had hoped for. The Fed lowers its economic growth forecast for 2019 while still signaling that it will continue to raise rates — albeit at a slower pace.

The Dow falls 464 points, closing below 23,000 for the first time since October 2017. The VIX volatility index climbs to the highest level since February.

It's a lousy end to a lousy five days. The Dow closes 414 points, or 1.8%, lower — ending its worst week since 2008. The Nasdaq plummets 3%, closing in its first bear market since the Great Recession. "Great Recession" ..." and "bear market" aren't words investors like to hear. Tech stocks are hit hard, because investors worry about the future of trade between the United States and China, and generally because high-priced stocks get harder to hold when things get scary. Facebook (FB) fell 6%. The news around the world is gloomy, too: Stock markets in China, Italy, Germany, Japan and South Korea are in bear markets.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin invokes memories of the 2008 crisis by releasing a statement on Sunday: Investors should rest assured. He spoke to CEOs of the biggest banks, who have their fingers on trillions of dollars, and they said "markets continue to function properly." It's a bizarre statement because people weren't really thinking they weren't functioning properly. Mnuchin also says President Trump doesn't really intend to fire the Federal Reserve chairman. That's helpful, but Trump then attacks the Fed again for not having the right "touch" to manage the economy. The Dow loses 653 points, and most of the losses follow Trump's tweet. The Dow and S&P 500 suffer their biggest Christmas Eve declines ever.

On the day after Christmas, there's not a lot of news to drive markets. President Trump is in Iraq to visit service members. There are no major economic data points for investors to chew on. So the Dow has its biggest day ever, rising a stunning 1,086 points — a 5% rise. The S&P 500 also soars 5%. The Nasdaq hurtles 5.8%, pulling out of bear market territory. All but one of 505 stocks in the S&P 500 end the day higher.

The Dow falls as much as 611 points before roaring back at the close. It ends 260 points higher to cap off another volatile day on Wall Street. The swing of nearly 900 points is one of the biggest trading ranges of the year.

The last Friday of the year is a lot like many trading days in 2018: Stocks move higher and lower throughout the day. By the end, the Dow falls 76 points. The S&P 500 is barely lower, the Nasdaq barely higher. All things considered, it's a quiet day. One more day of trading in 2018. See you on Monday.