By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks reversed early gains and
finished Friday lower but still recorded modest weekly gains. The
main indexes marched higher in the morning, with the S&P 500
hitting a new intraday record of 1,883.97, but gains dissipated by
afternoon, as stocks were hit by gyrations due to the so-called
quadruple witching day, or expiration of options.
The S&P 500 (SPX) ended the day 5.61 points, or 0.3%, lower
at 1,866.40. The benchmark index recorded a weekly gain, rising
1.4% for the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added 28.28 points, or
0.2%, to 16,302.77. The blue-chip index gained 1.5% over the past
five trading days.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) finished the day 42.50 points, or
1%, lower at 4,276.79, with the biotech stocks hit the hardest on
the index. iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF fell 4.7%. Friday's
losses dented the tech-heavy index's weekly gain to 0.7%.
"Today's action in the market was mostly technical. Perhaps,
investors had second thoughts about the events in Russia.
Typically, on the days when options expire, gyrations can cause
selloffs," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell
Global Capital.
Stocks had fallen Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairwoman
Janet Yellen suggested the central bank could begin raising
interest rates about six months after it ends its bond-buying
program. However, they mostly recovered on Thursday on the back of
upbeat manufacturing data from the Philadelphia's Federal
Reserve.
Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota, the sole
dissenter on the FOMC, released a statement on Friday in which he
criticized the Fed's new guidance, saying it "weakens the
credibility of FOMC's commitment to target 2% inflation" and
"fosters policy uncertainty and thereby suppresses economic
activity."
Other Fed speakers on Friday included St. Louis Fed President
James Bullard, as well as former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Fed Gov. Jeremy Stein is scheduled to speak on 'incorporating
financial stability considerations into a monetary policy
framework' at 7:20 p.m. Eastern.
Among individual stocks, Unwired Planet (UPIP), an intellectual
property company focused on the mobile industry, soared 49% after
news that Chinese computer-maker Lenovo Group Ltd. was buying 21 of
its patent families for $100 million.
CommScope Holding Co. Inc. (COMM) jumped 10% after the
telecommunications-gear maker raised its guidance for the current
quarter in its earnings report. The company said it expects to earn
between 43 cents and 47 cents per share on revenue of $900 million
to $925 million.
Shares of Nike Inc. (NKE) were down 5.1% after the company late
Thursday reported fiscal third-quarter adjusted profit above
analysts' forecasts. Sales increased 13%, but the sneaker giant
warned that a stronger dollar will remain a drag on earnings.
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) slid 13% after the security-software maker
fired Chief Executive Steve Bennett late Thursday and replaced him
with board member Michael Brown.
Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) rose 2.8% even as the firm said
profit and sales fell compared with a year earlier. Darden is
spinning off its Red Lobster chain.
In other financial markets, the dollar pulled back after rising
on Thursday on the back of Yellen's dollar-supportive interest-rate
comments. The weaker greenback provided support for oil and metals,
which moved broadly higher. Asian markets closed mostly in the
black, and European markets followed them higher early on
Friday.
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