Stocks Move Lower on Energy, Tech      09/23 17:58

   U.S. stock indexes closed moderately lower on Friday following three days of 
gains. 

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes closed moderately lower on Friday 
following three days of gains. Several technology stocks traded heavily, 
including Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook. Energy stocks fell along with a steep 
decline in the price of oil.

   The Dow Jones industrial average lost 131.01 points, or 0.7 percent, to 
18,261.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 12.49 points, or 0.6 percent, 
to 2,164.69 and the Nasdaq composite index lost 33.78, or 0.6 percent, to 
5,305.75.

   Stocks posted solid gains this week, with the S&P 500 up 1.2 percent, as 
investors were relieved that the Federal Reserve decided to keep rates at their 
current low level. The next time the Fed could raise rates is November, but the 
general impression among investors is the central bank will not raise rates 
until December, long after the general election.

   "As much as market fundamentals matter, the Fed and its decisions continue 
to dominate markets," said Kristina Hooper, head of U.S. investment strategies 
at Allianz Global Investors.

   Several technology stocks made big moves as investors worked through 
company-specific news on Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo.

   Facebook fell $2.12, or 1.6 percent, to $127.96 after The Wall Street 
Journal reported that the company was overstating how long users were watching 
video ads, raising concerns that a portion of Facebook's ad revenue may be at 
risk.

   Yahoo fell $1.35, or 3.1 percent, to $42.80 after the company admitted the 
data of 500 million users was stolen by a foreign agent, much more than it 
previously acknowledged. While Yahoo has previously agreed to sell most of its 
assets to Verizon, there were concerns that this development may cause Verizon 
to go back to the negotiation table.

   Twitter soared $3.99, or 21 percent, to $22.62 after business network CNBC 
reported that the company is in deal talks with Salesforce and Google's parent 
company Alphabet for a possible sale.

   While stocks rose solidly this week, most of the gains were in relatively 
safe, dividend-rich companies that investors favor when they're uncertain about 
the economy. The Dow Jones utility index was up 3.3 percent this week, and the 
newly created real estate component of the S&P 500, made up of mostly real 
estate investment trusts, rose 4.3 percent.

   Oil prices fell sharply after reports that Saudi Arabia was unable to reach 
an agreement with Iran to cut production. U.S. benchmark crude oil futures 
closed down $1.84 to $44.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent 
crude, used to price international oils, fell $1.76 to $45.89 a barrel.

   In other energy trading, heating oil fell 5 cents to $1.41 per gallon, 
wholesale gasoline fell 2 cents to $1.38 a gallon and natural gas fell 3.5 
cents to $2.955 per thousand cubic feet.

   Energy companies were hit hard on the reports, and the energy component of 
the S&P 500 lost 1.3 percent, much more than the broader market. Transocean, 
the ocean rig operator, fell 55 cents, or 6 percent, to $9.10.

   In metals, gold fell $3.00 to $1,341.70 an ounce, silver fell 29 cents to 
$19.81 an ounce and copper rose less than 1 cent to $2.201 a pound.

   The yield on the U.S. Treasury 10-year note was little changed at 1.62 
percent. The euro rose to $1.1231 from $1.204 and the dollar edged up to 101.09 
yen from 100.89 yen.


(KA)