US stocks lost ground late to end lower on Friday following a White House-focused week that raised more questions about the ability of US President Donald Trump’s administration to implement its pro-growth agenda.
While the losses were small, Friday marked the first time stocks have not risen the day after a more than 1 percent drop since Trump was elected president last year.
The week’s losses further dented the post-election rally, which was built on Trump’s promises of tax cuts and higher infrastructure spending.
A 1.5 percent drop on Thursday in the S&P 500 came a week after a similar fall. While the benchmark index is still up 13.4 percent since the election, it is down 2.1 percent over the past two weeks. That is the most since the two weeks before the election.
“While this mini-correction we’re seeing may not amount to much, it’s probably caused by this escalation in doubt of all of these things that seemed hopeful to investors at the beginning of the Trump administration,” said J. Bryant Evan, investment adviser and portfolio manager at Cozad Asset Management in Champaign, Illinois.
The White House said Trump on Friday fired chief strategist Steve Bannon, known as an economic nationalist and an advocate of “America First” policies.
Critics have accused Bannon of harboring anti-Semitic and white nationalist sentiments.
While stocks turned higher following reports of Bannon’s departure, they lost those gains heading into the close.
The news followed a week heavy with speculation and focus on the White House. On Thursday, there was concern about the possible departure of US National Economic Council director Gary Cohn; on Wednesday, Trump disbanded some business councils.
Trump also alienated some corporate leaders and US allies this week with his comments following violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where there was a white nationalist protest against the removal of a Confederate statue.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday fell 76.22 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 21,674.51. That compared with a close of 21,858.32 a week earlier, a decrease of 0.8 percent.
The S&P 500 on Friday lost 4.46 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,425.55, falling 0.6 percent from 2,441.2 on Aug. 11.
The S&P 500 closed roughly 1 percent below its 50-day moving average, the furthest below that key technical measure since mid-April and the closest to its 200-day moving average since the election.
The NASDAQ Composite on Friday dropped 5.39 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,216.53, dropping 0.6 percent from a close of 6,256.56 a week earlier.
Shares of sporting goods retailers and Deere & Co weighed on the market following disappointing results.
Nike Inc’s 4.4 percent slide weighed the most on the Dow, following dismal results from sporting goods retailers Foot Locker Retail Inc and Hibbett Sports Inc.
Deere’s 5.4 percent fall was the biggest drag on the industrial sector after the farm equipment maker reported a second straight quarter of lower-than-expected sales.
Friday also was the eighth straight day in which the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ had more stocks making new 52-week lows than highs, matching a similar streak leading up to Trump’s election.
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