US stocks post losses as tech, energy sectors drag on market
U.S. stocks fell Friday, with some big tech names taking a hit while the energy sector also posted losses after earnings from Exxon Mobil and Chevron disappointed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 76.01 points, or 0.3%, to 25,451.06. The S&P 500 lost 18.62 points, or 0.65%, closing at 2,818.82. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 114.77 points, or 1.46%, at 7,737.42.
Earlier in the session, stocks were flat with the latest reading on second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) providing some lift to the markets.
The economy expanded at a robust 4.1% rate in the second quarter -- the fastest pace in almost four years -- driven by a pickup in consumer spending plus a surge in soybean exports ahead of tariffs. The first-quarter GDP reading was also revised to 2.2%, up from 2%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 38503.69 | +263.71 | +0.69% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5070.55 | +59.95 | +1.20% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15696.639958 | +245.33 | +1.59% |
After the closing bell Thursday, Amazon reported blowout earnings, but on Friday the focus was on Twitter. The social-media company’s shares were on track for their worst session since October 2016 after the company released its quarterly results. Twitter announced that it experienced a decline in monthly active users in the latest quarter, while the company expects more declines as it moves to purge fake accounts.
Social media companies have come under scrutiny following Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data use scandal.
About half of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported quarterly numbers and so far the results are well ahead of expectations. Earnings at this point are up 22.1% from last year’s quarter, surpassing the 20.5% increase that analysts are looking for.
Other economic data released Friday included a reading on consumer sentiment. The final reading on July consumer sentiment came in at 97.9 versus the initial 97.1.
Commodities were mixed. Oil futures' losses accelerated after Baker Hughes announced that U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for the first time in three weeks. The weekly rig count increased by three.