WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the sell-off seen during Thursday's session, stocks saw further downside over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages all ended the day in negative territory, with the Dow showing a particularly steep drop.
The Dow slumped 652.82 points or 1.2 percent to 52,215.16, pulling back off the one-month closing high set in the previous session.
The S&P 500 also fell 39.75 or 0.5 percent to a one-month closing low of 7,623.68, while the Nasdaq slipped 53.52 points or 0.2 percent to 25,955.34, ending the day at its lowest closing level since early August.
Despite the steep drop on the day, the Dow rose by 0.4 percent for the week, although the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted weekly losses of 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Lingering concerns about the artificial intelligence trade contributed to the weakness on Wall Street along with a continued increase in the price of crude oil.
U.S. crude oil futures have surged by more than 4 percent and jumped back well above $100 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude oil futures have reached a six-month high.
Concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East continue to drive the price of crude oil higher amid continued attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia of Yemen against Saudi Arabia.
Reports suggesting that the U.S. and Israeli are planning to renew military operations against Iran after the midterm elections have also contributed to the spike in crude oil prices.
However, traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of several key events next week, including the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.
The Fed is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to leave rates unchanged.
With a quarter point rate hike still widely expected at the Fed's December meeting, traders are likely to keep a close eye on the accompanying statement.
Earnings news is also likely to remain in the spotlight next week, with Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) among the companies due to report their quarterly results.
'A combination of measured central bank guidance and strong technology results could support a recovery in risk appetite, while hawkish policy signals and disappointing earnings could trigger another round of selling,' said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.
'With U.S. GDP and PCE inflation also due, investors will have plenty of reasons to reassess interest rate expectations,' she added. 'The upcoming U.S. midterm elections on November 3 add another layer of uncertainty, suggesting volatility could remain elevated as markets head into November.'
Sector News
Airline stocks moved sharply lower amid the spike in crude oil prices, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index tumbling by 2.6 percent.
A steep drop by the price of gold also contributed to considerable weakness among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Pharmaceutical and retail stocks also notable weakness on the day, while oil service stocks surged along with the price of crude oil, resulting in a 5.5 percent spike by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after skyrocketing in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 3.6 basis points to 4.988 percent.
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