US Market Indexes Close Lower Friday, Extending Losses

S&P 500 down 3.6% for the year

Author's Avatar
Dec 14, 2018
Article's Main Image

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 24,100.51 on Friday with a loss of 496.87 points or -2.02%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,599.95 for a loss of 50.59 points or -1.91%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,910.66 for a loss of 159.67 points or -2.26%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 21.82 for a gain of 1.17 points or 5.67%.

For the week, the S&P 500 was down 1.4%. The Dow Jones and the Nasdaq were down 1.3%.

For the year, the S&P 500 has a loss of 3.6%, the Dow Jones has a loss of 0.9% and the Nasdaq has a gain of 0.9%.

Friday’s market movers

U.S. market indexes extended losses on Friday, closing lower. China continued to affect valuations and investor demand. Reports showed some weaker-than-expected economic data from China. There was also a report that Chinese hackers had breached U.S. navy contractors.

Yields were also affected by international news. The yield on the 10-year Treasury decreased to 2.891% from 2.911% on Thursday. In the S&P 500, health care, energy and technology led losses.

Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:

  • Retail sales increased 0.2% in November and 4.2% annually.
  • The Markit Manufacturing PMI decreased to 53.9 from 55.3.
  • The Markit Services PMI decreased to 53.4 from 54.7.
  • Business inventories increased 0.6% in October.
  • The Baker Hughes North American rig count decreased to 1,245 from 1,261.

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:

Small-cap stocks

In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,411.41 for a loss of 21.29 points or -1.49%. The S&P 600 closed at 878.11 for a loss of 14.00 points or -1.57%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8,774.88 for a loss of 145.24 points or -1.63%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 8,995.19 for a loss of 106.96 points or -1.18%.

Other notable indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,733.40 for a loss of 25.22 points or -1.43%; the S&P 100 at 1,155.04 for a loss of 23.21 points or -1.97%; the Russell 3000 at 1,529.41 for a loss of 27.37 points or -1.76%; the Russell 1000 at 1,437.32 for a loss of 26.03 points or -1.78%; the Wilshire 5000 at 26,750.76 for a loss of 489.26 points or -1.80%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 672.40 for a loss of 6.72 points or -0.99%.