US markets close lower on Friday as tech stocks slide

31 Oct 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep drop, on negative reaction to earnings news from a number of big-name tech companies. Shares of Apple (AAPL) slumped by 5.6 percent after the tech giant reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter earnings but a steep decline in iPhone sales. Apple also failed to provide guidance for the current quarter. Social media giant Facebook (FB) also came under pressure after reported third quarter results that exceeded estimates but warning of a significant amount of uncertainty looking ahead. Shares of Amazon (AMZN) also moved notably lower after the online retail giant reported third quarter results that beat estimates but provided a disappointing forecast for operating income in the fourth quarter. Twitter (TWTR) also posted a steep loss after the social media giant reported third quarter earnings that exceeded estimates but weaker than expected user growth. Lingering concerns about the recent spike in coronavirus cases also weighed on Wall Street along with uncertainty about next week's presidential election.

Meanwhile, traders shrugged off some upbeat economic data, with a report from the Commerce Department showing personal income rebounded by more than anticipated in the month of September. The Commerce Department said personal income climbed by 0.9 percent in September after tumbling by a revised 2.5 percent in August. Street had expected personal income to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 2.7 percent nosedive originally reported for the previous month. The report also showed a bigger than expected increase in personal spending, which surged up by 1.4 percent in September. Spending was expected to match the 1.0 percent jump seen in August. A separate report from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment improved slightly more than initially estimated in the month of October. The report showed the consumer sentiment index for October was upwardly revised to 81.8 from the preliminary reading of 81.2. Street had expected the reading to be unrevised. With upward revision, the consumer sentiment index is a bit further above the final September reading of 80.4.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 157.51 points or 0.59 percent to 26,501.60, Nasdaq slipped 274.00 points or 2.45 percent to 10,911.59 and S&P 500 was down by 40.15 points or 1.21 percent 3,269.96.

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