Stocks fell on Friday, led by major tech shares, as Wall Street wrapped up a difficult week in which coronavirus cases rose, U.S. fiscal stimulus talks broke down and traders braced for volatile swings during next week’s election.
The Dow Jones Industrials slid 157.51 points to 26,501.60.
The S&P 500 skidded 40.15 points, or 1.2%, to 3,269.96
The NASDAQ swooned 274 points, or 2.2%, to 10,937.31.
The Dow fell 6.5%, and the S&P 500 is down 5.6%, for the week and sustained their biggest weekly losses since March. The NASDAQ has lost more than 5% over that time period and was also headed for its worst one-week performance since March.
The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all posted their first back-to-back monthly losses since March. The Dow lost more than 6% this month while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ each declined by more than 5% in October.
Shares of Apple fell 5.6% after the tech giant reported a 20% decline in iPhone sales and failed to offer investors any guidance for the quarter ahead. Amazon dropped 5.5% even after the e-commerce giant reported blowout third-quarter results with a big beat on the top line.
Meanwhile, Twitter lost more than 21% after the social media company reported user growth that fell short of expectations. Facebook was off by 6.3% amid a surprise decline in active users in Canada and the U.S.
Shares of Alphabet bucked the negative trend for tech stocks, rising 3.8% after the Google parent company posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations.
Earlier in the week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the Senate until Nov. 9, making it unlikely for Democrats and Republicans to reach a deal on new fiscal stimulus. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meanwhile, accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of miscasting the state of the stalled negotiations, calling it a “political stunt.”
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury sank, raising yields to 0.87% from Thursday’s 0.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 59 cents at $35.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $9.70 to $1,877.70
