Growth stocks closed lower on Friday, underperforming the broader market, as continued losses in artificial intelligence names weighed on outlooks as market participants fear a looming economic slowdown is on the horizon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA) added nearly 75 points to close at 46,987.10 on Friday, while the S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY) rose 0.13% to end the day at 6,728.80. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: QQQ), however, fell over 0.2% to settle at 23,004.53.
Moving markets lower, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment reading for November came in near the lowest level on record on Friday, as Americans grew more concerned over the ongoing U.S. government shutdown. The headline index declined 6.2% on the month to a reading of 50.3, with the current conditions index dropping nearly 11% from October to 52.3 and the futures expectations measure declining 2.6% to 49.0.
"With the federal government shutdown dragging on for over a month, consumers are now expressing worries about potential negative consequences for the economy," said Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers, in a statement. "This month's decline in sentiment was widespread throughout the population, seen across age, income, and political affiliation."
Also impacted by the ongoing government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Friday it would reduce flights across 40 airports by about 10%, with impacts including major international hubs in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York City. This schedule reduction could affect 3,500 to 4,000 daily flights and may impact quarterly profits for major airlines including United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV).