NEW YORK — U.S. stocks declined on Friday, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow industrials recording their first weekly drop in four, as Wall Street remained unsettled over the lack of progress in budget negotiations on Capitol Hill with a deadline just days away.
“Right now, there is going to be a lot of misplaced angst over the whole debt-ceiling argument. It’s political brinkmanship, a sequel that has the same ending time after time; there will be a rash of negative headlines and people losing their tempers. It’s going to create some choppiness in the market between here and October,” said Matthew Kaufler, portfolio manager at Federated Investors.
Market uncertainty could be amplified with third-quarter earnings, “and the next 45 days or so will be fairly choppy,” said Kaufler, who believes some sectors will fare better than others.
“There is a growing chorus that says consumers are shifting their disposable income toward buying high-ticket items like cars, homes and boats, and away from apparel, so stocks associated are going to benefit or lose, respectively,” he added.
The Dow Jones industrial average retreated 70.06 points, or 0.5 percent, to end at 15,258.24, with Cisco Systems Inc. leading declines. The blue-chip index tallied a 1.3 percent weekly decline.
The S&P 500 index retreated 6.92 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,691.75. Down five of its last six sessions, the S&P 500 lost 1.1 percent for the week.
Posting a fourth week of gains, the Nasdaq composite fell 5.83 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,781.59 on Friday, a level that has it up 0.2 percent on the week.
