Trading has been choppy throughout the week as investors weighed a mixed bag of economic data reflecting how the economy is weathering a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Wall Street capped an up-and-down week of trading Friday with a broad sell-off that wiped out the major indexes’ gains for the week. The S&P 500 lost 0.9 percent and posted its second straight weekly loss. Roughly 80 percent of the stocks in the benchmark index fell. Technology and communication companies accounted for much of the pullback. Industrial and financial stocks also were big drags on the index. Only the index’s health care sector managed a gain. Small-company stocks bucked the overall market slide. Bond yields rose broadly. Energy prices fell. Trading has been choppy throughout the week as investors weighed a mixed bag of economic data reflecting how the economy is weathering a spike in COVID-19 cases and how it might continue its recovery in the coming months. Wall Street is also looking ahead to next Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve is due to deliver its latest economic and interest rate policy update. “We’ve seen a gradual deterioration over the course of the week, with two little up periods, but for the most part, generally a weakening (stock) market,” said Alan McKnight, chief investment officer at Regions Asset Management. The S&P 500 fell 40.76 points to 4,432.99. Despite being down about 0.6 percent for the week, the index is within 2.3 percent of the all-time high it set Sept.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 166.
