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 Amazon <AMZN.O> was the S&P 500's worst performer, down 9.9 percent
to $303.83, and other high-flying sectors dropped along with it.
Social media names slid, with Twitter <TWTR.N> losing 7.1 percent to
$41.61, and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index <.NBI> falling 2.4
percent as investors once again shied away from riskier sectors. The
Global X Social Media index ETF <SOCL.O> tumbled 5.3 percent, its
second-worst performance since its debut in November 2011.
Still, even with Friday's decline, the S&P 500 finished nearly flat
for the week. The benchmark index remained within 2 percent of its
all-time intraday high.
Amazon's stock declined a day after the company reported a jump in
quarterly revenue, which was offset by sharp increases in spending.
Ford Motor Co <F.N> shares fell 3.3 percent to $15.78 after the No.
2 U.S. automaker reported first-quarter earnings that missed
expectations. The company's results were hurt by higher warranty
costs in North America.
The two weighed on the S&P index of consumer discretionary stocks <.SPLRCD>,
which dropped 1.7 percent and ranked as the worst-performing sector
of the day.
"What that says is people are using any strength at all to raise
some cash because they think the market is going to test lower,"
said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O'Neil
Securities in New York.
Investors continued to pay attention to geopolitical strife over
Ukraine, creating some nervousness heading into the weekend. U.S.
President Barack Obama and four European allies agreed on Friday
that Russia failed to live up to terms of the Ukraine peace accord,
and would coordinate on a response to "impose costs" on Russia, the
White House said.
While the situation has taken a backseat to corporate earnings
recently, investors remain on edge over the possible result of
escalating tensions. Visa Inc <V.N> said late Thursday that U.S.
sanctions on Russia were hurting its card transaction volumes.
Visa's stock dropped 5 percent to $198.93 and weighed on the Dow.
On the upside, Microsoft Corp's <MSFT.O> earnings topped analysts'
forecasts, while investors were cheered by the software company's
new emphasis on mobile and cloud computing. Microsoft's stock edged
up 0.1 percent to close at $39.91.
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The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 140.19 points or 0.85
percent, to end at 16,361.46. The S&P 500 <.SPX> dropped 15.21
points or 0.81 percent, to 1,863.40. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC>
tumbled 72.777 points or 1.75 percent, to 4,075.561.
For the week, the Dow fell 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 dipped 0.1
percent and the Nasdaq lost 0.5 percent.
While companies are clearing a lowered bar for earnings, estimates
have been improving. Profits are now seen rising 3.3 percent this
quarter, down from the 6.5 percent growth rate estimated at the
start of the year, but above the low of 0.6 percent seen last week,
according to Thomson Reuters data.
Healthcare names were among the biggest gainers after LifePoint
Hospitals Inc's <LPNT.O> results. The stock advanced 6.3 percent to
$56.87, while Tenet Healthcare <THC.N> jumped 9.1 percent to $46.11
and Community Health <CYH.N> climbed 6.6 percent to $39.92.
In the latest economic data, U.S. consumer sentiment rose to a
nine-month high in April, according to the Thomson
Reuters/University of Michigan index. But the U.S. services sector
expanded at a slower rate.
Volume was modest, with about 6.26 billion shares traded on U.S.
exchanges, slightly below the 6.57 billion average so far this
month, according to data from BATS Global Markets.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock
Exchange by a ratio of 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, five stocks fell
for every one that rose.
(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Nick Zieminski and Jan Paschal)
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