New York: US stocks finished Friday’s session noticeably lower amid a broad market sell-off.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 622.03 points, or 2.55 per cent, to 23,723.69. The S&P 500 fell 81.72 points, or 2.81 per cent, to 2,830.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 284.60 points, or 3.20 per cent, to 8,604.95, Xinhua reported.
All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors dropped, with energy closing down 6 per cent, the worst-performing group.
Amazon shares slipped 7.6 per cent. The US e-commerce giant on Thursday posted a first-quarter profit that missed analysts’ expectations and pledged to spend entire second-quarter operating profit on coronavirus response.
Shares of other big tech names, including Facebook, Apple, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet, were also under pressure.
On the data front, US manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index registered 41.5 per cent in April, down sharply from the March reading of 49.1 per cent, the Institute for Supply Management reported on Friday. Any reading below 50 per cent indicates the manufacturing sector is generally contracting.
