Stocks Drop Across the Board

Stocks fell broadly on Friday as Wall Street closed out a holiday-shortened week on a down note.

• The Dow dropped 333.59 points, or 0.8%, to 42,992.21, finishing the week up 0.4%.
• The S&P 500 fell 66.75 points, or 1.1%, to 5,970.84 and was up 0.7% for the week.
• The Nasdaq fell 298.33 points, or 1.5%, to 19,722.03. It ended the week up 0.8%.

The losses were made worse by sharp declines for the Big Tech stocks known as the "Magnificent 7," which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large size. Semiconductor giant Nvidia slumped 2.1%, and Microsoft declined 1.7%. A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon and Best Buy fell 1.5%. Energy stocks held up better than the rest of the market, with a loss of less than 0.1% as crude oil prices rose. "There's just some uncertainty over this relief rally we've witnessed since last week," said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial.

Despite Friday's drop, the market is moving closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-98.
The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has been steadily easing. A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week. (More Wall Street stories.)