The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 22,445.37 on Friday with a loss of 414.23 points or -1.81%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,416.63 for a loss of 50.79 points or -2.06%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 6,332.99 for a loss of 195.41 points or -2.99%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 29.79 for a gain of 1.41 points or 4.97%.
Friday’s market movers
Indexes closed lower Friday, pushing further into correction territory and deflating hopes of a Santa Claus rally that will keep the indexes positive for 2018. A number of political issues both domestically and internationally have been a factor for stocks in 2018. An inverting yield curve, usually the signal of a recession, has also caused substantial risk-off trading and contributed to losses for the equity market.
On Friday, investors were watching developments in Congress which could lead to a government shutdown Friday night. Ahead of the early close Monday and Christmas holiday Tuesday, the major indexes had the following year to date losses:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average -9.9%
- S&P 500 -10.4%
- Nasdaq Composite -10.52%
Economic reports affecting market trading on Friday included the following:
- Corporate profits reported an increase of 3.5%.
- Durable goods orders increased 0.8% in November.
- The seasonally adjusted annual GDP Growth Rate for the third quarter was 3.4%.
- The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index increased to 98.3 in December from 97.5.
- The PCE Price Index increased 1.8% annually in November.
- The Baker Hughes North American Oil Rig Count decreased to 1,211 from 1,245.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
- Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) -4.87%
- American Express (AXP, Financial) -4.48%
- Visa (V, Financial) -3.97%
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) -3.89%
- Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA, Financial) -3.62%
- Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) -3.42%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,291.52 for a loss of 34.48 points or -2.60%. The S&P 600 closed at 809.59 for a loss of 18.51 points or -2.24%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 8,019.79 for a loss of 215.68 points or -2.62%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 8,384.28 for a loss of 130.40 points or -1.53%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,610.70 for a loss of 33.63 points or -2.05%; the S&P 100 at 1,070.95 for a loss of 25.41 points or -2.32%; the Russell 3000 at 1,417.81 for a loss of 30.75 points or -2.12%; the Russell 1000 at 1,333.83 for a loss of 28.35 points or -2.08%; the Wilshire 5000 at 24,793.30 for a loss of 540.09 points or -2.13%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 631.04 for a loss of 7.71 points or -1.21%.
