But late in the session, losses narrowed significantly after news of progress in addressing the crisis facing Congress, which led to the longest government shutdown in US history.
“Clearly, reaching a solution to end the shutdown would boost confidence, especially at a time when the margin for error is narrowing,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at a US bank.
He added: “Stocks are at all-time highs and valuations are high, and if the shutdown ends, that will be the least of investors’ worries.”
Compared to last Friday’s close, the three Wall Street indices declined, with the Nasdaq recording its biggest weekly percentage drop since late March, amid growing concerns about overvaluation of artificial intelligence-related stocks, which have driven the market higher over the past few months.
“Periods of rise and fall and periods of consolidation are part of the natural ebb and flow of a rising market,” according to Sandven.
In Friday’s session, the S&P 500 rose 8.52 points, or 0.13%, to close at 6729.02 points, but fell 1.63% during the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 76.28 points, or 0.16%, to 46988.58 points, but recorded a weekly loss of 1.2%.
In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite fell 47.87 points, or 0.21%, during the session to 23006.12 points, while it fell 3% during the week’s trading.
