U.S. market indexes were lower Friday as speculation about a U.K. exit vote weighed on stocks for the day.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 57.94 points or 0.33% to close at 17,675.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 was also down, closing at 2,071.23 for a loss of 6.76 points or 0.33%. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 4,800.34 for a loss of 44.58 points or 0.92%. The VIX Volatility Index was down 0.09 points or 0.46% to 19.28.
In the broader market, stocks trading actively on Friday included Viacom (VIA, Financial), Apple (AAPL, Financial), Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) and Oracle (ORCL, Financial). Viacom shares were lower Friday after Sumner Redstone made drastic changes to the company’s management and board of directors. Viacom’s stock was down approximately 1.5% on Friday. Apple’s stock was lower Friday after Chinese suppliers stopped producing the iPhone 6 because of an intellectual property conflict. Apple was down approximately 2%. Microsoft continued to trade lower on Friday, down approximately 0.5%, after the company announced its acquisition of LinkedIn (LNKD, Financial) for $26.2 billion. Oracle gained Friday after a positive fourth-quarter earnings report. On Friday the stock was up approximately 3%.
For the week the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down -1.07%, the S&P 500 was down -1.18% and the Nasdaq Composite was down -1.92%. Stocks leading losses in the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the week included the following:
- American Express (AXP) -5.75%.
- Goldman Sachs (GS) -4.27%.
- JPMorgan (JPM) -3.91%.
Stocks ended the week mostly lower. Significant factors weighing on stocks Friday included the Federal Reserve’s unchanged interest rate decision and weaker report on the economy on Wednesday. Also a factor for the Federal Reserve and global economy during the week was the U.K. exit vote. On Friday, the U.K. exit vote significantly affected stock valuations as attention increased on the June 23 referendum vote which would separate the U.K. from the European Union.
A CNBC report Friday discussed the affects of the U.K. exit vote and how investors can hedge to protect from losses.
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