Stocks slip as energy prices fall and 10-day tech rally ends

U.S. stocks finished slightly lower Friday as energy companies fell with oil prices and a 10-day rally for technology companies came to an end. But Wall Street mostly avoided the sharp losses that hit European stocks.

The price of U.S. crude oil fell 2.5% and pulled energy stocks lower. Technology companies slipped, ending their longest winning streak in more than two years.

Investors bought government bonds in the United States and Europe, which sent prices higher and yields lower. With yields down, investors who want income bought shares in companies that pay big dividends, such as utilities and household goods makers.

European stocks took sharp losses after Reuters reported that the European Central Bank will consider paring back its stimulus programs in late October. Indexes in France, Germany and Italy all fell, as did the blue-chip Euro Stoxx 50 index.

“Europe is the economy that makes people the most nervous,” said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. “It’s one that is still being treated with caution.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 0.91 of a point to 2,472.54. The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 31.71 points, or 0.1%, to 21,580.07. Earlier in the day it was down as much as 108 points. The Nasdaq composite lost 2.25 points to 6,387.75. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks sank 6.52 points, or 0.5%, to 1,435.84. Still, all four indexes remain near record highs.

General Electric skidded 2.9% to $25.91 after it disappointed investors by saying it expects to reach only the low end of its annual profit forecast range. GE said that its power unit struggled in the second quarter and that low oil prices are hurting its business. Its shares are down 18% this year.

Also falling was oil-field services company Baker Hughes, which combined with GE’s oil and gas unit this month and is now mostly owned by GE. It declined 2.4% to $34.12.

Baker Hughes was one of a horde of energy companies that fell with oil prices. Benchmark U.S. crude sank $1.15 to $45.77 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, dropped $1.24, or 2.5%, to $48.06 a barrel in London.

Over the last few weeks, investors have focused on what the European Central Bank will do as the European economy continues to improve. Kinahan, of TD Ameritrade, said the central bank also hasn’t done much to address the way the euro has risen over that time.

“The ECB didn’t take an aggressive stand on the currency move that’s already happened,” he said. That has left some investors thinking the euro will get even stronger, he said, which would make European goods more expensive in other markets and affect the earnings and sales of companies based in the European Union.

On Friday, the euro rose to $1.1677 from $1.1626. It hasn’t been this strong against the dollar since the beginning of 2015. The German DAX lost 1.7%, France’s CAC 40 shed 1.6% and the FTSE 100 in Britain shed 0.5%.

European bond prices jumped and yields tumbled. Investors also bought U.S. government bonds, which sent prices higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.24% from 2.26%.

Microsoft’s fourth-quarter profit and sales surpassed Wall Street estimates, and the software giant posted another round of strong results from its cloud-computing business. However, its stock slipped 0.6% to $73.79.

Also losing ground was chip maker Texas Instruments, which fell 1.2%, to $81.70. E-commerce company EBay fell 1.2% to $36.61. Payment processor Visa climbed 1.5% to $99.60 after its latest report showed that its purchase of Visa Europe a year ago is strengthening its business.

Still, a 10-day winning streak for the Nasdaq and technology companies came to an end. The S&P 500 technology index climbed more than 6% over that time and reached record highs. The rally was assisted by the weakening dollar, which helps sales and earnings overseas. Investors also bet that technology companies would have another round of strong quarterly earnings.

Financial companies did relatively well Friday after some solid quarterly reports. Credit card issuer Capital One Financial leaped 8.6% to $87.94 after its second-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates. E-Trade Financial jumped 5.1% to $41.63. Moody’s climbed 4.2% to $132.57.

Wholesale gasoline fell 4 cents to $1.56 a gallon. Heating oil fell 3 cents to $1.52 a gallon. Natural gas slid 7 cents to $2.97 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold climbed $9.40 to $1,254.90 an ounce. Silver rose 11 cents to $16.46 an ounce. Copper ticked up 1 cent to $2.72 a pound.

The dollar slid to 111.04 yen from 111.99 yen.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 of Japan slipped 0.2% and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched down less than 0.1%.

UPDATES:

4:35 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.

This article was originally published at 8:35 a.m.