The rising US dollar and sinking oil prices dragged US stocks lower in a volatile week that also included the Apple Inc’s Watch launch and news of The Walt Disney Co’s Frozen movie sequel.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 17,749.31, down 107.47 points, or 0.60 percent. The blue-chip index had triple-digit swings on four of the week’s five sessions.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 17.86, or 0.86 percent, to 2,053.40, while the tech-rich NASDAQ Composite Index lost 55.61, or 1.13 percent, to end at 4,871.76.
“The market is very volatile right now, because investors have a lot of questions,” Cornerstone Wealth management chief investment officer Alan Skrainka said.
Markets spent much of the week brooding over the speed of the dollar’s ascent, as well as the problems associated with a strong greenback, such as the drag on US exports and the hit to emerging economies that hold US dollar-denominated debt.
It also hurts the foreign earnings of US companies.
“If you look at the causes for market weakness today, many point to the very significant move higher in the dollar,” Kenjol Capital Management portfolio manager David Levy said.
“This certainly is viewed negatively by US multinationals earning most of their revenues outside,” he said.
The strong greenback also acted as an anchor to oil prices, which are denominated in US dollars. US crude prices finished the week at US$44.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down nearly 10 percent from last week.
In corporate action, Apple stayed in focus with the launch of the Apple Watch, which can handle messaging, calls and various apps. The device has lifted hopes for yet another winning new product.
However, Apple also suffered embarrassment when a nearly 12-hour outage of iTunes and other popular online services depressed sales worldwide.
Disney won cheers from younger fans when it made official its plans for Frozen 2, a sequel to the 2013 animated movie that earned nearly US$1.3 billion and spawned a host of merchandise and theme park initiatives.
General Motors Co announced US$5 billion in share repurchases, averting a proxy fight with activist investor Harry Wilson.
Merger activity remained robust, especially in the highly acquisitive pharmaceutical industry.
Ireland-based Endo International PLC offered US$11.25 billion to acquire Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Mall giant Simon Property Group Inc also went public with a hostile bid for Macerich Co, which owns and operates shopping malls in the western US, valued at US$22.4 billion.
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