Markets Right Now: Slumps in tech, energy weigh on US stocks

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):

4 p.m.

Major U.S. stock indexes wound up pretty much where they started on Wall Street as losses in technology and energy companies outweighed gains in banks and insurers.

Equifax plunged 13.7 percent in heavy trading Friday after the credit monitoring company disclosed a massive data breach.

Insurers, which have fallen in recent days as hurricanes battered Houston and the Caribbean, recovered some of their recent losses. Chubb rose 4.4 percent.

Kroger slumped 7.5 percent after saying intense competition forced it to cut prices. Other grocery store operators also fell.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,461.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,797. The Nasdaq composite fell 37 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,360.

11:45 a.m.

U.S. stocks are little changed in midday trading as technology companies slip but banks and insurance companies recover some their recent losses.

Equifax plunged 13 percent in heavy trading after the credit monitoring company said it had been hit by a cyberattack that exposed the personal information of about 143 million Americans.

Kroger slumped 9.5 percent after saying intense competition forced it to cut prices. Other grocery store companies also fell.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was little changed at 2,465.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 43 points, or 0.2 percent, to 21,828. The Nasdaq composite fell 17 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,379.

9:35 a.m.

Stocks are opening broadly lower on Wall Street as industrial and consumer-focused companies take losses.

General Electric fell 1 percent in early trading Friday, while cable TV and internet provider Comcast slumped 1.6 percent.

Equifax plunged 17 percent in heavy trading after the credit monitoring company said it had been hit by a cyberattack that exposed personal information of about 143 million Americans.

Kroger fell 6.6 percent after saying intense competition forced it to cut prices.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,460.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 30 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,759. The Nasdaq fell 11 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,386.