*By Kristen Lee*
Stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, closing out a roller-coaster week on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed nearly 300 points lower, while the S&P lost 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq ended down 2.1 percent.
Early Friday, the Dow plunged by as much as 539 points, before paring its losses after authorities announced the arrest of a man in connection with the mail bombing of prominent Democrats. Cesar Sayoc, Jr., a 56-year-old Florida resident lives in Aventura and has a criminal record, according to the Broward County Sheriff.
Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR, said a "mixed bag" of earnings ー and specifically, weak guidance from bellwether tech companies Amazon and Alphabet ー are weighing on the markets.
Amazon's ($AMZN) closed about 8 percent lower on Friday after it posted better-than-expected earnings, but fell short on revenue and guidance.
Google parent Alphabet ($GOOGL) ended the day nearly 2 percent lower after reporting a jump in profits but also indicated slowing growth.
"In this earnings season, with a market that's very nervous about a whole host of things, you have to hit all three: you have to get your earnings right, your revenue right, and you have to give upbeat guidance ー and when you don't, especially in the case of either Amazon or Alphabet, you're in trouble," Hogan said Friday in an interview on Cheddar.
He said the mail bomb threat transfixing the nation is also having an impact. Every significant case of terrorism, and especially domestic terrorism, has cast a pall over the markets and prompted many to stop making investment decisions, Hogan added.
"It puts everybody in a very nervous place," he said. "And \[until\] we get answers, it's very difficult to have a robust feeling about what's going on in the economy and the markets."
Merriam-Webster has fully revised its popular “Collegiate” dictionary with over 5,000 new words. They include “petrichor,” “dumbphone” and “ghost kitchen.” Also “cold brew,” “rizz,” “dad bod,” “hard pass,” “cancel culture” and more.
YouTube will offer creators a way to rejoin the streaming platform if they were banned for violating COVID-19 and election misinformation policies that are no longer in effect.
Lukas Alpert of MarketWatch explores how networks, brands, and ad buyers absorb the shockwaves when late‑night show hosts are suddenly cut — and brought back.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
