US close: Major indices return some post-election gains

Wall Street stocks closed lower on Friday as major indices shrugged off last week's record-setting post-election rally.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.70% at 43,444.99, while the S&P 500 lost 1.32% to 5,870.62 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.24% weaker at 18,680.12.

The Dow closed 305.87 points lower on Friday, extending losses recorded in the previous session after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank was in no rush to continue cutting interest rates.

Underlining sentiment on Friday was news that US retail sales increased 0.4% month-on-month in October, according to the Census Bureau, following an upwardly revised 0.8% gain in September and beating consensus estimates of a 0.3% rise. Excluding automotive retailers, sales edged up just 0.1% month-on-month.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US import prices decreased to 140.8 in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, down from 141.40 in August, while export prices slipped to 146.80 points, down from 147.90 in the prior month.

On another note, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire State manufacturing index surged to 31.2 in November, up from -111.9 in October and smashing expectations for a reading of -0.7 with the best print seen since December 2021. New orders climbed 38 points to 28.0, while the shipments index rose 35 points to 32.5.

Finally, US business inventories increased 0.1% month-on-month in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, slowing from the prior month's 0.3% increase and short of expectations for a reading of 0.2%.

In the corporate space, shares in semiconductor equipment and services business Applied Materials traded lower after issuing weak revenue guidance, while Domino's Pizza traded higher on the back of news that Berkshire Hathaway had taken a stake in the restaurant chain.

Pharmaceutical stocks were also under the cosh after Donald Trump said he would nominate vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $115.08 5.46%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.65 1.91%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $260.82 1.68%
Boeing Co. (BA) $140.19 1.48%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $169.54 1.47%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $245.31 1.42%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $153.96 1.40%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $76.66 1.29%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $594.18 0.84%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $408.18 0.61%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $283.61 -4.16%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $8.48 -3.75%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $415.00 -2.79%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.35 -2.72%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $96.31 -2.08%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $292.63 -1.99%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $325.33 -1.93%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $204.93 -1.91%
3M Co. (MMM) $129.79 -1.91%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $225.00 -1.41%

S&P 500 - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $115.08 5.46%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $8.22 4.18%
DaVita Inc (DVA) $160.15 3.87%
Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (ZBH) $112.54 3.39%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $68.76 3.34%
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $58.40 3.17%
Centerpoint Energy Inc. (CNP) $30.86 2.94%
Dominion Energy Inc. (D) $57.57 2.56%
Western Union Co. (WU) $10.84 2.55%
Alliant Energy Corp. (LNT) $61.01 2.49%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $168.88 -9.20%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.07 -8.55%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $37.69 -8.52%
Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) $97.21 -7.79%
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) $27.13 -7.23%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $52.00 -7.08%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $70.05 -6.34%
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $75.44 -6.14%
Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $109.52 -5.63%
Equifax Inc. (EFX) $248.36 -5.32%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $35.00 4.95%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $68.76 3.34%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $320.72 3.07%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $18.28 2.29%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $85.49 1.51%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $78.60 1.37%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $8.77 1.04%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $223.69 0.92%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.39 0.91%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $84.58 0.62%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $168.88 -9.20%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $52.00 -7.08%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $70.05 -6.34%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.43 -5.42%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $135.05 -5.05%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $520.75 -5.03%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $503.37 -5.00%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $658.63 -4.95%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $614.46 -4.73%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $365.17 -4.60%