Tech companies help pull US stocks lower in early trade

FAN Editor

The major U.S. stock indexes fell in early trading Friday, adding to the market’s modest losses a day earlier. Technology stocks accounted for a big slice of the slide. Energy companies also fell along with the price of crude oil. Banks rose as bond yields headed higher.

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KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index fell 5 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,687 as of 10 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 35 points, or 0.1 percent, to 24,629. The Nasdaq composite lost 41 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,196. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,570.

TECH TUMBLE: Several technology companies were trading lower, extending the sector’s losses this week. Apple fell 3.2 percent to $167.33.

NOT PLAYING: Mattel slid 6.4 percent to $12.59 after the struggling toy maker replaced its CEO.

SURPRISING RESULTS: General Electric climbed 4.4 percent to $14.61 after the conglomerate reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street’s expectations.

ENERGY: Crude oil prices fell as representatives from OPEC nations and allied oil ministers met in Saudi Arabia to discuss their agreement to maintain cuts to production in a bid to keep prices up. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 65 cents, or 1 percent, to $67.64 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, slid 67 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $73.11 per barrel in London.

The decline in oil prices pulled energy sector stocks lower. Range Resources lost 3 percent to $13.82.

BOND YIELDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.93 percent from 2.91 percent late Thursday. The rise in bond yields helped push bank shares higher. When bond yields rise, they drive up interest rates on mortgages and other loans, which can translate into bigger profits for banks. KeyCorp added 2.1 percent to $19.96.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 107.73 yen from 107.41 yen on Thursday. The euro fell to $1.2282 from $1.2337. The pound weakened to $1.4028 from $1.4078 after the Bank of England’s governor cast some doubts about the possibility of a rate increase next month.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.3 percent, while France’s CAC 40 gained 0.2 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent. Asian stock indexes finished lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.9 percent.

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