Dow Runs Slump to 5 Session



The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined for a fifth straight day Friday as economic uncertainty loomed.

The blue-chip index plummeted 271.66 points to finish Friday and the week at 34,607.72. Apple was the biggest laggard weighing on the Dow, down 3.3%. The tech giant can no longer force developers to use in-app purchasing, a federal judge ruled Friday in a closely watched trial between Apple and Epic Games.

The S&P 500 swooned 34.7 points to 4,458.58

The NASDAQ Composite crumbled 132.76 points, to 15,115.49.

For the week, the Dow was down roughly 2.2% in its second negative week in a row. The S&P 500 was off about 1.7% for the week, while the NASDAQ was 1.6% lower.

Investors are worried about persistent COVID cases slowing the economy just as hot inflation causes the Federal Reserve to take away easy policies.

The August producer price index released Friday showed wholesale costs for businesses rose 8.3% on an annual basis, its biggest advance on record since at least 2010. The PPI accelerated 0.7% for the month, above the 0.6% Dow Jones estimate. The more important consumer price index for August will be released on Tuesday.

Investors are worried about persistent COVID cases slowing the economy just as hot inflation causes the Federal Reserve to take away easy policies.

The Fed meets on Sep. 21-22 and investors are worried the central bank will indicate a move to slow down its monthly $120 billion in bond purchases, which have kept rates low and boosted the recovery from the pandemic.

Also helping sentiment was a better-than-expected weekly reading on jobless claims. Initial jobless claims came in 310,000, which was below expectations of 335,000 claims. This marked another fresh low for the pandemic era.

Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained ground, lowering yields to 1.34% from Thursday’s 1.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices recaptured $1.43 to $69.57 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices faded $10.10 to $1,789.90 U.S. an ounce.