US: Stocks end strong weak on lackluster note

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks dropped on Friday, retreating from records, as investors took profits following a strong US jobs report that wrapped up a week of solid economic data.

All three major indices ended at record levels on Thursday, but stocks finished the week on a lackluster note after spending all of Friday in the red.

"It's been an explosive week and it's not unusual for that to precipitate some profit taking," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Holdings.

Mr Hogan said some investors chose to unload stock ahead of the weekend when there could be negative developments on the coronavirus.

Investors have largely shrugged off the virus in recent days, but continue to monitor developments and recognise it as a drag on growth early in 2020.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.9 per cent to finish the week at 29,102.51.

The broad-based S&P 500 slid 0.5 per cent to close at 3,327.71, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also shed 0.5 per cent to 9,520.51.

The pullback came after the Labor Department reported the US economy added 225,000 new non-farm jobs last month, far surpassing expectations, although unemployment edged up by a tenth to 3.6 per cent.

Among individual companies, Uber Technologies surged 9.5 per cent as it moved up the target date for becoming profitable to the fourth quarter of 2020, rather than in 2021.

FedEx jumped 4.7 per cent after the company announced plans to bolster its delivery services to meet rising ecommerce demand. FedEx will begin rolling out new services in Greensboro, North Carolina in March and add other markets throughout the remainder of the year.

Ford dropped 1.7 per cent as it promoted Jim Farley to chief operating officer and announced the carmaker's automotive President Joe Hinrichs will retire. Shares have been under pressure following a disappointing 2020 outlook released earlier this week.

AFP