The S&P 500 index slid 17.31 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,723.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109.91 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,270.83. The Nasdaq composite, which has a high concentration of technology companies, lost 77.06 points, or 1 percent, to 7,356.99. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,547.98.
Oil prices continued to slip. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 0.9 percent to $63.14 a barrel in New York and Brent crude shed 0.1 percent to $72.83 a barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline lost 0.5 percent to $1.71 a gallon and heating oil fell 1.3 percent to $2.17 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1.5 percent to $3.28 per 1,000 cubic feet.__
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US economy looks strong heading into congressional elections
WASHINGTON (AP) — For a U.S. economic expansion now in its 10th year, hiring remains robust, growth has picked up and the outlook is a mainly bright one on the eve of congressional elections. On Friday, the government reported that employers added a strong 250,000 jobs in October and that the unemployment rate remained 3.7 percent, the lowest level in nearly 50 years. Pay also rose at a healthy pace.
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Tech elite stages a Revolt of the Haves against employers
NEW YORK (AP) — Google employees who staged a global walkout Thursday are the most visible example of a surprising trend: high-paid engineers emerging from their comfortable bubbles to speak out. Elite technology employees have been stirring and in some cases organizing for much of the past two years. Such a revolt would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, prior to the election of President Donald Trump.
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Apple’s 4Q, change in iPhone sales disclosure jar investors
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple’s faithful customers aren’t snapping up iPhones quite as enthusiastically as anticipated heading into the crucial holiday shopping season. But the latest models costing $1,000 and more are popular enough to keep propelling profits ever higher for the world’s most prosperous company. The mixed results announced Thursday let down investors already jittery about the tech industry’s growth outlook, and then Apple raised more worries with a surprise change it its iPhone sales disclosures.
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Uber wants to resume self-driving car tests on public roads
DETROIT (AP) — Uber wants to resume testing on public roads nearly eight months after one of its autonomous test vehicles hit and killed an Arizona pedestrian. The company has filed an application with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to test in Pittsburgh, and it has issued a lengthy safety report pledging to put two human backup drivers in each vehicle and take a raft of other precautions to make the vehicles safe.
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Justice lawyers fail to halt Trump financial records release
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department fails to stop legal proceedings that would give President Donald Trump’s critics access to financial records related to his Washington hotel. The plaintiffs, Maryland and the District of Columbia, have said they plan to move forward quickly with discovery, seeking information and financial records such as the president’s income tax returns.
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Exxon 3Q profit surges on higher energy prices
DALLAS (AP) — Higher oil prices propelled Exxon’s third-quarter profit up 57 percent to $6.24 billion despite another drop in production. It was Exxon’s best third quarter since 2014, when the effects of a collapse in oil prices had not yet been felt, and a sign that Big Oil is coming back. Rival Chevron Corp. reported a doubling of quarterly profit, to $4 billion.
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US restores Iran sanctions lifted under Obama nuclear deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is reimposing U.S. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. This move ramps up economic pressure on the Islamic Republic as President Donald Trump completes the unraveling of what had been one of his predecessor’s signature foreign policy achievements. The sanctions cover Iran’s shipping, financial and energy sectors.
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EU stress tests show banks more robust against a crisis
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe-wide stress tests show big banks coming through a theoretical financial crisis in better shape than in the last such test two years go. None of the 48 banks subjected to the exercise fell short of the capital yardstick used in earlier exercises, although this year’s exercise does not give pass-fail grades.
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Stocks end a strong week with losses as Apple shares skid
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slide as a sharp loss for Apple takes technology companies lower. The company reported weak iPhone sales and issued a disappointing revenue forecast. It also said it will stop reporting quarterly iPhone sales. The market still ended the week higher thanks to gains over the past three days. Stocks started higher after the government reported another month of strong job growth and the biggest increase in hourly pay in almost 10 years. Bond yields rose sharply, hurting high-dividend stocks.
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