U.S. equities closed lower on Friday, with losses concentrated in technology and industrial sectors, while declines in declining stocks outnumbered advancers by a margin of 1,553 to 1,137.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.02%, or 9.45 points, to 53,559.99, while the S&P 500 fell 0.25%, or 19.23 points, to 7,711.76. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.52%, extending weekly losses.
Declines were broad-based, with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) easing 0.62% to 14.42, reflecting modest market anxiety.
Among Dow components, Amazon.com led gainers with a 3.97% advance, while NVIDIA led decliners with a 4.58% drop. In the S&P 500, PayPal Holdings fell 12.71%, the largest percentage loss in the index, after late-session selling. PG&E Corp and Generac Holdings also posted significant declines.
The Nasdaq saw outsized moves in smaller-cap names, including FingerMotion Inc, which surged 129.53%, and Core AI Holdings Inc, which gained 54.36%. Conversely, BioXcel Therapeutics Inc fell 74.76%, the steepest percentage drop in major U.S. indices.
Gold futures for December delivery fell 3.37% to $4,506.59 per troy ounce, while West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery slipped 0.12% to $83.43 per barrel. Brent crude for November delivery declined 0.29% to $88.26 per barrel. The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.53% to 99.62, while the euro weakened 0.58% against the dollar to 1.16. The yen also fell 0.43% to 160.07 per dollar.
