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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply on Friday, weighed down by steep losses in Boeing and Johnson & Johnson. The broader market was also pressured by a decline in Netflix shares that led other Big Tech stocks lower.
The 30-stock index jettisoned 255.68 points to end the day at 26,770.20. Boeing dropped 6.8% — its biggest one-day drop since February 2016 — on news that company instant messages suggest the aerospace giant misled regulators over the safety systems of the 737 Max.
Johnson & Johnson slid 6.2% after the company recalled some baby powder upon finding traces of asbestos.
Friday’s losses wiped out the Dow’s gains for the week. The index closed down 0.2% week to date.
The S&P 500 fell 11.75 points to 2,986.20. The NASDAQ Composite sank 67.31 points to 8,089.54. Netflix shares dropped more than 6%. Facebook, meanwhile, slid 2.2% while Amazon fell 1.6%. Alphabet shares pulled back 0.4%.
Both indexes were able to post solid gains for the week despite Friday’s decline. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% week to date while the NASDAQ gained 0.4% as enthusiasm around the first batch of corporate earnings lifted market sentiment.
More than 70 S&P 500 companies have reported calendar third-quarter earnings this week. Of those companies, 81% have posted better-than-expected results.
Weak data from China weighed down the market on Friday.
Some of the companies posting stronger-than-forecast results this week include Bank of America, Netflix, J.P. Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. Coca-Cola continued that trend on Friday, rising more than 2%. Their results helped push the major indexes higher for the week.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.75% from Thursday’s 1.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 19 cents to $53.74 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices flopped $4.20 to $1,494.10 U.S. an ounce.
Dow Thuds 250+ to End Week
