NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, amid a sharp sell-off in technology shares and soaring crude oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 175.28 points, or 0.34 percent, to 52,002.41. The benchmark S&P 500 sank 84.62 points, or 1.09 percent, to 7,659.44, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 572.99 points, or 2.15 percent, to finish at 26,140.03.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors finished in positive territory. Energy and utilities paced the gainers, advancing 2.47 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively. Conversely, technology and communication services led the market lower, tumbling 2.54 percent and 2.45 percent, respectively.
For the week, major indexes diverged sharply as investors rotated away from rate-sensitive growth equities. The Nasdaq dropped 4.5 percent over the five sessions, snapping a month-long winning streak to record its worst weekly performance since late June, while the S&P 500 lost 1.95 percent. The blue-chip Dow bucked the broader weekly downtrend, holding onto a 0.7 percent weekly gain.
Global energy benchmarks surged as geopolitical tensions escalated in the Middle East following renewed strikes around the Strait of Hormuz. International benchmark Brent crude touched 109.86 U.S. dollars per barrel during Friday's session, reaching that threshold for the first time since May. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery jumped 3.44 dollars, or 3.51 percent, to settle at 101.41 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Monetary policy uncertainty remained high on Wall Street following higher-than-expected consumer price index and producer price index prints earlier in the week. Speaking overnight at an International Monetary Fund conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh declined to provide forward guidance on whether policymakers would raise or hold benchmark rates at their upcoming sessions in late October or December. "It's a new chapter at the Fed, and we're not in that business anymore," Warsh remarked.
Following his comments, financial markets lowered their expectations for a rate increase at the Fed's late-October meeting. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets were pricing in a 17 percent probability of a quarter-point rate hike, down from 28 percent on Thursday.
In corporate developments, AI cloud infrastructure firm CoreWeave slid after a brief rebound on Thursday, pressured by lingering worries over balance-sheet leverage and debt obligations. Across mega-cap tech, the "Magnificent Seven" cohort fell by an average of about 2 percent. Tesla dropped 2.13 percent following an unveiling of its new all-electric Roadster sports car.
"Technology names have led the market for a very long time, with continued strength justified by (much) higher-than-average earnings," said Melissa Brown, global head of investment decision research at SimCorp, in a written commentary. "Once a 'theme' drives stock weights above about 40 percent of the overall market it does seem to eventually be associated with a market peak. ... The U.S. market is there now."
Looking ahead, the third-quarter corporate reporting cycle is set to accelerate next week, with quarterly earnings scheduled from Tesla, Netflix, and Meta Platforms.
