NEW YORK: US stock indexes fell on Friday following a two-day rally, weighed down by technology and healthcare shares, while a dour sales forecast from Nike further dampened sentiment. The sportswear maker's shares dropped 6.7% to weigh the most on the Dow and the S&P 500 after it also warned of delays during the holiday shopping season, blaming a supply chain crunch.
Shares of footwear retailer Foot Locker shed 5.7%. "There is a real risk that companies are going to miss earnings expectations despite there being strong demand for their products and services," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
"The cost pressures are so clear that widespread downgrades to profit margins seem inevitable in the coming months."
Six of the 11 major S&P sectors declined. Mega-cap growth names Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc, drugmakers Amgen Inc and Moderna Inc and chipmaker Nvidia Corp slid between 0.8% and 2.5%.
However, gains in economy-sensitive energy, financials and industrials shares limited losses on the blue-chip Dow and the benchmark S&P 500. The S&P energy sector has jumped nearly 4.8% so far this week, most among all the major sectors.
The S&P 500 value index is up nearly 0.7% this week, outperforming its tech-heavy growth counterpart and on track to break a three-week losing streak. Wall Street's main indexes have been roiled this month by fears of a sooner-than-expected tapering by the Federal Reserve and the crisis at Evergrande, which on Thursday missed an interest payment deadline and has entered a 30-day grace period.
The benchmark S&P 500 is now on course to snap a seven-month gaining streak. On the week, however, the index was nearly flat, with investors assessing Fed's signals on reducing its monthly bond purchases as soon as November and looking for progress on President Joe Biden's spending and budget bills.
"It's not unusual for Friday's action after two consecutive strong moves to the upside, to see modest pullback and repositioning," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York.