Stocks struggled on Friday as technology names once again failed to bounce back from their recent slump.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.2%, giving up an earlier gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded just 53 points higher, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 hovered just above the flatline.
Apple shares were down 0.9% after rising more than 1%. Facebook and Amazon each lost at least 0.3%. Alphabet slid 0.5%. Netflix curbed some of Big Tech’s decline, climbing 1.1%. Microsoft was flat. The tech sector experienced a massive pullback that saw the Nasdaq drop 10% in just three sessions, dipping into correction territory.
Peloton and Oracle jumped on the back of better-than-expected quarterly results. Peloton gained more than 4% and Oracle climbed 3.6%.
Wall Street was coming off a session in which the major averages closed sharply lower after a sharp downturn in tech names. The Dow and S&P 500 dropped more than 1% each on Thursday and the Nasdaq lost 2%. Those losses came after the benchmarks gave up solid gains.
Douglas Busch, founder of ChartSmarter.com, said a “hallmark” of a healthy market is closing near its high after a weak start. “The opposite of that action could be the definition of how the benchmarks fared Thursday,” he said.
“Decent early gains quickly faded, and as many stated last week’s lows were critical to hold,” Busch said in a note to clients. “Perhaps, for the first time in a while, we can say advantage bears.”
The market is on track to post big losses for the holiday-shortened week. The Dow is down 1.7% this week while the S&P 500 has fallen 2.56% this week, set for its second straight weekly loss for the first time since May. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has dropped 3.5%, headed for its worst week since March.
“The next couple of sessions will be crucial in judging the possible extent of the pullback, and bulls will be looking for signs of positive divergences as the major indices approach their 50-day moving averages,” said Ken Berman, strategist of Gorilla Trades.
— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed reporting.
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Stocks struggled on Friday as technology names once again failed to bounce back from their recent slump.