Dow Jones Futures Settle at Three-Week Lows Amid Broad Retreat

New York (Aug 19)  Dow industrials declined for a second straight session on Friday, as U.S. political turmoil continued to linger.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76.22 points, or 0.4%, to 21,674.51. That was its lowest settlement since July 25. For the week, the blue-chip index fell 0.8%.

Twenty of the Dow’s 30 index members finished in the red. Shares of Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) sold off 4.4% to lead the market lower. Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was down 2.2%. The tech giant declined sharply on Thursday after it lowered its sales guidance for the first fiscal quarter of 2018.

The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) declined 1.4% while UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) finished 1% lower. Rounding out the bottom five was 3M Co (NYSE: MMM), which fell 0.9%.

On the opposite side of the ledger, shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) rose 0.7%. Energy blue-chips Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) each climbed 0.5%.

The broader S&P 500 Index was down 0.2% by the close, settling at 2,425.55. Six of 11 sectors finished in the red and only three verticals reporting gains. Meanwhile, the technology-driven Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.1% to finish at 6,216.53.

On Thursday, Wall Street posted its biggest one-day drop in three months as U.S. political turmoil drove heavy selling in the market. European markets followed their U.S. counterparts lower on Friday, with the Stoxx Europe 600 declining 0.7%.

All of Europe’s national bourses finished in the red, with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index falling 0.9%. The CAC 40 in France was down 0.6%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index declined 0.6%.

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