Wall Street Mixed: Dow Falls 1.05% and American Express Drops 4.19%
Wall Street indices were mixed at midday, as the Dow Jones fell 1.05% while the Nasdaq gained 0.06%, and American Express declined 4.19% following a plan to lay off around 3,500 jobs.
US stock indices were mixed in Friday's trading, with the Dow Jones falling while the Nasdaq rose. Below are the index levels as of 13:01 Eastern Time.
At 13:01 Eastern Time, the S&P 500 stood at 7,639.77 points, down 0.31%; the Dow Jones at 52,312.44 points, down 1.05%; the Nasdaq at 26,023.50 points, up 0.06%; and the VIX volatility index at 19.92 points, up 4.68%. The numbers show that pressure was concentrated in industrials- and financials-weighted indices, while the tech index held its ground.
American Express shares dropped 4.19% following third-quarter results and a plan to lay off 5% of its workforce, or about 3,500 jobs, according to the Wall Street Journal. On the other hand, SLB shares rose 6.68% after quarterly results beat expectations. The decline in American Express reflects market concern over the impact of job cuts on company growth, while SLB benefited from improving energy sector activity.
The energy sector was the best performer among S&P 500 sectors via the XLE fund, up 2.77%, while the consumer staples sector was the weakest via the XLP fund, down 1.93%.
What do these terms mean?
S&P 500: An index comprising around 500 large US companies, used as a primary benchmark for US stock market performance.
Dow Jones: An index comprising a group of major publicly traded US companies, heavily influenced by the stock prices of high-weighted companies in its calculation.
VIX: An index measuring expected volatility in the US stock market, typically rising when investor anxiety increases.
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