By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average
dropped below 17,000 on Friday on disappointing earnings, leaving
it with its biggest weekly decline in six weeks.
Big declines consumer discretionary stocks, led by Amazon.com,
pushed the S&P 500 away from the record close set on
Thursday.
But one of the day's standouts was fast-food chain El Pollo
Loco(LOCO), whose shares surged 60% to $24 on their trading debut,
after the initial public offering was priced at $15.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) lost 123.23 points, or
0.7%, to 16,960.57, weighed down by losses in Visa Inc. For the
week, the blue-chip index fell 0.8%, its biggest weekly loss since
June 14.
A big contributor was Visa Inc. (V), which dropped 3.8% after
the credit-card company trimmed its forecast for annual revenue
growth.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed 9.6 points, or 0.5%, lower at
1,978.34 and finished the week roughly where it started it. The
Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) shed 22.5 points, or 0.5%, to 4,449.56, but
eked out a weekly gain of 0.4%.
Read the recap of MarketWatch's live blog of today's
stock-market action.
"Today's action is all earnings-related. At this point," said
Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones.
"Investors pay attention to guidance from companies, and the
lowering of the outlook from Visa signalled that perhaps the second
half is not going to be as strong as previously thought," she
added.
Investors also were disappointed with Amazon.com(AMZN) and a
wider-than-expected second-quarter loss late Thursday. Shares
plunged 10%. Also read: Is Amazon spending like a drunken
sailor?
Pandora Media(P) dived 11%, after the Internet-based radio
company posted wider losses late Thursday.
Cynk Technology (CYNK) plunged 85%, after trading in the stock
resumed following the suspension by the SEC earlier this month.
For more on the day's notable movers, read our Movers &
Shakers column.
Meanwhile, orders for durable goods such as computers, aircraft
and heavy machinery rose a solid 0.7% in June, offering a sign of a
general upswing in business spending. But investors showed little
reaction.
Next week has the potential to be big for economic news, with a
Federal Open Market Committee meeting and the monthly jobs report
topping a long list of data on the docket.
European stocks drifted into the red on Friday, with German
stocks under pressure after weaker-than-expected German Ifo
business sentiment data. The blue-chip MICEX in Russia fell 1.4%.
Russia's central bank hiked interest rates on Friday, citing
geopolitical tensions and the potential impact on the ruble and
rising inflation as reasons. The European Commission submitted
proposals on new sanctions for Russia linked to the Ukraine crisis
on Thursday.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index rallied more than 1% on Friday to
the highest settlement in six months, as the yen weakened and
domestic inflation data met market expectations. China's Shanghai
Composite also put on a strong performance, up 1.1%.
Crude oil (CLU4) was flat, and gold (GCU4) surged in late trade
to settle above 1,300 per troy ounce. The euro (EURUSD) fell
against the dollar after the weak German Ifo data.
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