By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock fell sharply Friday as a
global rush out of stocks and emerging-markets currencies deepened,
while company earnings offered little respite for investors.
Main indexes are headed for weekly losses. The S&P 500 (SPX)
fell 18.14 points, or 1%, to 1,810.32 and is set to record its
second straight week of losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped 147 points, or
0.9%, to 16,049.61 and is headed for a steep weekly loss.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) lost 46.11 points, or 1.1%, to
4,172.96 and on track to record a weekly loss after two weeks of
gains. Over the course of the week, the tech-heavy index has wiped
out most of its early 2014 gains. Follow the U.S. markets on the
live blog
Investors began heavily selling stocks and riskier assets such
as emerging-markets currencies on Thursday following weak Chinese
economic data. Main indexes on Wall Street sold off, prompting some
analysts to call it the beginning of a long-awaited correction.
Adding to the pressure from emerging markets, Argentina on
Friday loosened restrictions on purchases of U.S. dollars after it
devalued the peso.
"We think the flight to quality will continue, as investors
realize how much profit they have made in the S&P 500 last
year. This kind of selling could well be a spark for the
correction," said Uri Landesman, president at Platinum
Management.
Investors digested earnings results from several heavyweights in
a day with no U.S. economic data.
Reporting before the bell, Kimberly Clark Corp. (KMB)announced
its fourth-quarter earnings jumped to $539 million, or $1.40 per
share, beating analysts' expectations. Shares in the consumer-goods
company rose 3.4%.
Procter & Gamble Corp.'s (PG) profit fell, but its core
earnings beat expectations. Shares in Procter & Gamble rallied
3.6%.
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) shares reversed earlier
losses and was up 1% even as the company's quarterly earnings
missed expectations.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) shares rose 2.2% after the
pharmaceutical company reported a better-than-expected rise in
revenue and earnings.
Shares in Care.com (CRCM) jumped 33.3% on their debut, after the
non-medical-care management company sold shares at $17, the higher
range of its initial offer.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT)(MSFT) bucked a weaker tech tone, up
2% after the company beat Wall Street estimates with fourth-quarter
results.
Shares of Starbucks (SBUX) were up 3.1% as the coffee giant
posted a 25% rise in profit, though sales missed Wall Street's
targets.
EBay Inc. (EBAY) fell 1% after Carl Icahn said he is ready for a
proxy fight to win two seats on the board of the online auctioneer,
with the intent of pushing eBay to spin off PayPal.
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