Friday's Stock Market Close: Trade, Impeachment Worries Hamper US Shares

Lackluster economic data, and worries over trade and the impeachment inquiry in Washington sent U.S. stocks lower Friday, capping two weeks of losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed nearly 70 points lower at 26,820.25 or 0.26%. The Nasdaq Composite dove 91 points to 6,939.63 or 1.13% and the S&P 500 gave up 15 points to 2,961.96 or 0.53%.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange totaled 2.5 billion shares with 1,231 issues advancing and 1,717 declining. Ninety-four stocks set new highs and 30 set new lows.

Leading the most actives were Micron Technology (MU), Wells Fargo ( WFC ) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Wells Fargo was up 3.8% at the close on news of a new CEO appointment. Charles Scharf, chairman and CEO of Bank of New York Mellon, will take the helm Oct. 21.

Word from the Trump administration that it would limit U.S. investment in China was seen as an escalation of the trade war ahead of talks scheduled to resume Oct. 10 and came as the U.S. economy was cooling.

Bloomberg reported the administration is looking at ways to limit investor portfolio flows into China. Equities linked to China led the decline.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday the trade war with the United States can be resolved as long as both sides show goodwill and cut back on pessimistic language.

Consumer spending slowed more than expected, ticking up just 0.1% in August, with a slowdown in spending and restaurants and hotels tamping down increased outlays on recreational goods and motor vehicles. Data for July also was revised, showing pending increased just 0.5%, down from the previously reported 0.6%.

J.D. Power predicted a 15% decrease in new-vehicle sales for September. Overall third-quarter sales are flat compared with a year ago, but prices are protected to set a record, averaging $33,321, up 4% from last year.

In Europe, a no-deal Brexit appeared more likely as clashes between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition lawmakers turned more rancorous and European Union negotiators rejected Britain’s latest proposals for handling the Irish border.

Johnson has rejected the “backstop” negotiated by his predecessor that would essentially leave Northern Ireland in the EU, saying that amounts to a surrender to the trading alliance.

In Washington, impeachment rhetoric heated up with Trump calling House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff a fraud and ordering him to resign. Meantime, a senior administration confirmed to reporters a key part of the whistleblower complaint that triggered the impeachment inqury, saying the administration tried to hide record of Trump’s July 25 call to Ukraine’s president in a special National Security Council computer, even though it didn’t meet the criteria for storage.

Global markets were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed 0.33% lower while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was off 0.77%. China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.11% and Australia’s S&P/ASX added 0.58%.

European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.02%, Germany’s Dax added 0.75% and the French CAC was up 0.36%.

The British pound was off 0.13% while the euro gained 0.2% and the U.S. dollar index was off 0.0e%.

Oil futures fell back to levels they were at before the attack on Saudi oil facilities that affected 5% of world production. Crude oil dropped to $55.82 a barrel or 1.03%. Brent crude fell to $60.96 a barred or 0.13%. Gold closed at $1,503.50 an ounce, off 0.78% while silver fell to $17.535 an ounce or 2.1%.

Yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.68% or 0.017% while the 30-year note fell to 2.125% or 0.019%.