Wall Street drifts lower on last trading day of 2017

12/29/2017 10:51:55 PM

(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency)
New York, Rabi'II 11, 1439, Dec 29, 2017, SPA -- A slide in Apple and Goldman Sachs' shares pulled Wall Street lower on the last trading day of 2017, in what has been a banner year for U.S. stocks.
Apple declined 0.8 percent after issuing a rare apology for slowing older iPhones with flagging batteries.
Goldman Sachs fell 1.27 percent after the bank said its fourth-quarter earnings would take a $5 billion hit related to the tax overhaul.
Major U.S. indexes hit a series of record highs in 2017, riding on strong economic growth, solid corporate earnings and low interest rates.
The benchmark S&P 500 has surged 20 percent this year, while the blue-chip Dow has gained more than 25 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq about 29 percent. All three indexes are on track for their best performances since 2013.
The market has also shown surprising strength despite tensions in North Korea and political upheavals in Washington. The S&P has closed below 1 percent only four times this year.
Among sectors, the technology index has been the best performer, rising about 37 percent and outpacing gains in the broader S&P index.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 18.17 points, or 0.26 percent, at 6,931.99.
Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher on Friday, led by 0.35 percent gain in the consumer staples index.
--SPA
23:42 LOCAL TIME 20:42 GMT

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