The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 180 points, or 0.4%, by late afternoon, and the benchmark S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, with both largely sector neutral indexes on track to close at their lowest prices since mid-August (the tech-concentrated Nasdaq booked a 0.4% gain).

All three indexes are down noticeably this week, with the Dow down 760 points, or 1.8%, the S&P down 2.5% and the Nasdaq down 3.2% during September’s first three trading sessions.

The slump is the result of “yet another mini growth scare,” Pictet Asset Management strategist Arun Sai told CNBC, as investors grappled with a series of data points which signal potential for a major U.S. economic slowdown, the latest of which was a Thursday morning ADP private employment report which revealed August was the worst month for private employer hiring since early 2021.

But the “true test” for stocks will be Friday’s monthly jobs report from the Labor Department, according to Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson, who wrote to clients there’s “a lot riding” on the Friday labor market release after worse-than-expected employment report on Aug. 2 that spurred a 1,600-point selloff in the two sessions following the release.