Washington’s budget fight jolted Wall Street on Friday, reminding it that the next few weeks could bring a lot of uncertainty.
Investors hate uncertainty, and stocks plunged in an afternoon sell-off that wiped out all the gains from a rally earlier this week, when the Federal Reserve kept its economic stimulus program intact.
Major indexes were mixed in morning trading, but turned lower about midday after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to defund President Barack Obama’s health-care law.
The vote wasn’t a surprise, but it reminded investors that the Republican-led House and the Democrat-controlled Senate are poised for a showdown over federal spending.
The debt ceiling must be raised by Oct. 1 to avoid a government shutdown and a potential default on payments, including debt, later in the month.
“What we’ve done is basically committed ourselves to two weeks of worry,” said Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 185.46 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 15,451.09 - 225 points below its all-time closing high reached Wednesday after the Fed’s announcement.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 12.43 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,709.91. The Nasdaq composite fell 14.66 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,774.73.
All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 fell, with the drop led by telecom companies and utilities. The S&P also fell Thursday, making this its first two-day decline in almost three weeks.
Until now, September defied the worriers. The stock market has bounced back from an August swoon despite a calendar loaded with potential rally-killers.
Fears of a conflict with Syria have faded, and Wall Street cheered when Larry Summers withdrew his name as a candidate to replace Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.
Summers, a former Treasury secretary, was viewed as being more likely to rein in the Fed’s stimulus program, which has kept interest rates low and spurred corporate profits.
As Middle East strife recedes from investors’ minds, though, fears of budget gridlock grow.
“Geopolitics … is much lower on the list. It’s not off the list” of investor worries, said David Darst, chief investment strategist for MorganStanley Wealth Management. “No. 1 becomes the debt ceiling and the federal spending debate.”
In corporate news, Black-Berry shares fell $1.79, or 17 percent, to $8.72 on the Nasdaq after announcing a loss of nearly $1 billion and layoffs of 4,500 workers. The company’s phone sales have been eclipsed by Apple and Samsung.
Apple shares fell $4.89, or 1 percent, to close at $467.40 as its newest iPhone debuted in stores.
Two new stocks had strong debuts. Tech security company FireEye surged $16, or 80 percent, to end at $36, and artificial-intelligence company Rocket Fuel rose $27, or 93 percent, to $56.10.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.74 percent from 2.76 percent on Thursday.
Business, Pages 32 on 09/21/2013