NEW YORK – Stocks slipped on Friday, pushing the market to a weekly loss, as investors assessed the latest round of company earnings.
Express Scripts, the largest U.S. pharmacy benefits manager, fell after its fourth-quarter earnings slipped, hurt by the loss of UnitedHealth, a large customer. Groupon plunged after the online deals company said it expects to post a loss this quarter and issued a weak outlook for the year.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose in early trading Friday and had almost wiped out its loss for the year by late morning, climbing to within two points of its record close. By late afternoon the index started to turn lower.
The stock market has gained this month after getting a boost from decent corporate earnings for the fourth quarter and optimism that the economy will start to pull out of its winter slump as the weather improves.
The S&P 500 index fell 3.53 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,836.25. The index lost 2.38 points for the week and is now 12 points below its record close of 1,848.38, set Jan. 15. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29.93 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,103.30. The Nasdaq composite dropped 4.13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,263.41.
Among individual stocks, Express Scripts fell $3.11, or 4 percent, to $74.01 after it reported its results.
Groupon plunged $2.25, or 21.9 percent, to $8.03 after the online deals company said it was ramping up its marketing campaign and forecast 2014 pre-tax earnings to be only slightly higher than last year.
Ameren, a utility company based in St. Louis, Mo., was among the winners on Friday.
The stock rose $2.07, or 5.3 percent, to $40.88, making it the biggest gainer in the S&P 500. Ameren reported earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations after cold weather boosted demand for gas and electricity.
Intuit rose $3.39, or 4.6 percent, to $77.24 after the maker of Quicken, TurboTax and other financial software raised its earnings forecast for its fiscal third quarter. Intuit said it was off to a good start in tax season and that electronic tax filings using TurboTax were up 10 percent as of Feb. 14.
Priceline.com climbed $32.65, or 2.5 percent, to $1,315.65 after the online travel company reported earnings that exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts, as bookings for hotels, rental cars and airline tickets accelerated.
Express Scripts, the largest U.S. pharmacy benefits manager, fell after its fourth-quarter earnings slipped, hurt by the loss of UnitedHealth, a large customer. Groupon plunged after the online deals company said it expects to post a loss this quarter and issued a weak outlook for the year.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose in early trading Friday and had almost wiped out its loss for the year by late morning, climbing to within two points of its record close. By late afternoon the index started to turn lower.
The stock market has gained this month after getting a boost from decent corporate earnings for the fourth quarter and optimism that the economy will start to pull out of its winter slump as the weather improves.
The S&P 500 index fell 3.53 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,836.25. The index lost 2.38 points for the week and is now 12 points below its record close of 1,848.38, set Jan. 15. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29.93 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,103.30. The Nasdaq composite dropped 4.13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,263.41.
Among individual stocks, Express Scripts fell $3.11, or 4 percent, to $74.01 after it reported its results.
Groupon plunged $2.25, or 21.9 percent, to $8.03 after the online deals company said it was ramping up its marketing campaign and forecast 2014 pre-tax earnings to be only slightly higher than last year.
Ameren, a utility company based in St. Louis, Mo., was among the winners on Friday.
The stock rose $2.07, or 5.3 percent, to $40.88, making it the biggest gainer in the S&P 500. Ameren reported earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations after cold weather boosted demand for gas and electricity.
Intuit rose $3.39, or 4.6 percent, to $77.24 after the maker of Quicken, TurboTax and other financial software raised its earnings forecast for its fiscal third quarter. Intuit said it was off to a good start in tax season and that electronic tax filings using TurboTax were up 10 percent as of Feb. 14.
Priceline.com climbed $32.65, or 2.5 percent, to $1,315.65 after the online travel company reported earnings that exceeded the expectations of Wall Street analysts, as bookings for hotels, rental cars and airline tickets accelerated.