Stocks end a strong week with losses

Thanks to gains over the previous three days, the index finished with a weekly increase despite Friday’s losses.

NEW YORK >> U.S. stocks slipped Friday as Apple absorbed its worst loss in more than four years. Thanks to gains over the previous three days, the S&P 500 index finished with its biggest weekly increase since March.

Apple, the world’s largest technology company, forecast weak revenue in the current quarter and startled investors by saying it will stop disclosing quarterly iPhone sales. That pulled technology stocks lower. Other highgrowth stocks held up well after the U.S. and China said they had made some progress in trade talks, and Asian indexes surged on reports that China’s government plans to cut taxes.

The Department of Labor said employers added 250,000 jobs in October, with no sign that hiring was going to slow down. The proportion of Americans with jobs is at its highest level since January 2009, and hourly wages also grew by the most since then. Along with high consumer confidence, those are all good signs for economic growth and consumer spending in the months to come.

Bond yields surged following the strong jobs report as investors bet on continued economic growth, which would push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more quickly.

“It clearly was a good report,” said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Growth in wages, while stronger than anything that’s been reported recently, was about what investors were expecting, Lefkowitz said. That’s important because investors are still sensitive to signs that inflation could flare up, forcing the Federal Reserve to be more aggressive in raising rates. If inflation grows moderately, as it appeared to in October, that’s not as likely.

The S&P 500 index slid 17.31 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,723.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109.91 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,270.83.

The Nasdaq composite, which has a high concentration of technology companies, lost 77.06 points, or 1 percent, to 7,356.99. The Russell 2000 index of smallercompany stocks rose 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,547.98.

Stocks had surged over the previous three days and finished the week 2.4 percent higher. They skidded in October, suffering their worst monthly loss in seven years. The S&P 500 will have to rise another 7.6 percent to match the alltime high it reached on Sept. 20.

Bond prices dropped, sending yields sharply higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 3.22 percent, from 3.14 percent. A jump in interest rates last month started the market’s downturn, but investors on Friday didn’t seem as worried. Interest rates will also be in focus when the Federal Reserve meets next week. It’s not expected to raise rates in November.

Apple’s sales in its latest quarter and its estimates for the holiday season disappointed investors. Other big smartphone makes don’t disclose how many phones they sell each quarter or what the sale price is. The change raised suspicions that Apple might be trying to mask a downturn in the phone’s popularity. The company says the quarterly numbers don’t necessarily tell investors how strong its business has been.

RICHARD DREW — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Specialist Gregg Maloney, left, and trader Timothy Nick work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.