Business

Technology losses pull U.S. stocks lower at Friday’s close

The Nasdaq fell about 2.1%; the S&P 500 lost 1.1% and the Dow about 0.3%.

By NewsCubby Editorial Desk · Published October 17, 2026 at 7:27 AM EDT

U.S. stocks ended Friday, October 16 lower as selling in large technology companies weighed on the market. The Nasdaq Composite fell about 2.1%, while the S&P 500 declined 1.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped about 0.3%, according to the Associated Press’s closing report.

Closing data distributed through the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’s FRED service put the S&P 500 at 7,659.44 and the Dow at 52,002.41. Those are completed Friday session readings, not live Saturday prices.

An index describes a defined group of stocks rather than every investor’s holdings. The S&P 500 tracks large U.S. companies, the Nasdaq Composite covers thousands of Nasdaq-listed equities, and the Dow contains 30 companies. Their different composition helps explain why their daily moves can differ.

For people following retirement or brokerage accounts, Friday’s benchmark losses provide market context. They do not determine the change in any individual account or establish what the next trading session will do.

Photo: Arild Vågen / CC BY-SA 4.0. Broad Street and Wall Street, New York, August 16,2017. Archival street view, not Friday’s trading session. Photo resized and placed in an original NewsCubby layout. Adapted image/graphic is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Technology losses pull U.S. stocks lower at Friday’s close

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