Stocks Close Firmly Negative After Abbreviated Trading Session - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - With trading resuming for an abbreviated session following the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, stocks moved mostly lower on Friday. The Dow dropped to its lowest closing level in well over four months, while the S&P 500 slid to a six-month closing low.

The major averages all ended the day firmly in negative territory. The Dow slumped 178.74 points or 0.7 percent to 24,285.95, the Nasdaq fell 33.28 points or 0.5 percent to 6,938.98 and the S&P 500 tumbled 17.37 points or 0.7 percent to 2,632.56.

For the holiday-interrupted week, the Dow and the S&P 500 plunged by 4.4 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, while the S&P 500 plummeted by 3.8 percent.

The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected recent downward momentum amid lingering concerns about the global economic outlook.

A continued decline by shares of Apple (AAPL) also weighed on the markets, with the tech giant slumping by 2.5 percent to its lowest closing level in well over six months.

Apple extended a recent downtrend after a report from the Wall Street Journal said the company is moving to offer subsidies to mobile-network operators in Japan, effectively cutting the price of its recently released iPhone XR.

Energy stocks led the way lower on the day amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil. After jumping $1.20 to $54.63 a barrel on Wednesday, crude for January delivery plunged more than $3 a barrel.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Oil Index nosedived by 3.7 percent, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plummeted by 3.6 percent and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index tumbled by 2.5 percent.

Substantial weakness was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 3.7 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index fell to its lowest closing level in well over a year.

Gold stocks also moved notably lower amid a drop by the price of the precious metal, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves on the day.

Overall trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as many traders remained away from their desks following the holiday on Thursday.

A lack of major U.S. economic data also kept some traders on the sidelines along with the early close for the markets.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Friday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.4 percent, while South Korea's Kospi slid by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries closed slightly higher but well over the best levels of the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 3.054 percent.

Looking Ahead

Next week's trading may be impacted by reaction to reports on consumer confidence, new home sales, and personal income and spending as well as remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting.