US close: Stocks shrug off political drama, focus on tax reforms

Stocks ended only slightly lower on Friday, brushing off news that ex-US National Security adviser, Michael Flynn, was set to testify against his old boss, President Trump.

Instead, equity investors chose to focus on the likely passage of the Senate's tax reform proposals later that evening.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.17% or 40.76 points lower at 24,231.59, while the S&P 500 was off by 0.20% or 5.36 points to 2,642.22 and the Nasdaq Composite by 0.38% or 26.39 points to 6,847.59.

On Friday afternoon, ABC reported that Flynn would testify against his old boss, after pleading guilty of lying to the FBI, setting off an avalanche of selling in stocks.

More specifically, the broadcaster erroneously reported that Flynn would testify that Trump had directed him to contact Russian officials during the election campaign.

However, it would later turn out that Trump had only allegedly instructed Flynn to do so after the elections, during the transition period between both administrations.

Be that as it may, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note still finished five basis points lower at 2.36%.

By sectors, the weakest areas of the stock market were: Electronic Office Equipment (-3.60%), Coal (-3.8%) and Defence (-2.0%).

The day before, optimism over the Senate passing a bill to overhaul the US tax code helped to propel the Dow to a close above 24,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 also ended at an all-time high.

Economic data at the end of the week was supportive as well, with the ISM's manufacturing sector purchasing managers' index slipping from a reading of 58.7 in October to 58.2 for November (consensus: 58.3).

Nevertheless, the PMI continued to point to very solid levels of factory activity, analysts said.

US construction sector spending was even stronger, rising by 1.4% month-on-month in October (consensus: 0.5%).

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $55.87 1.09%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $37.60 0.80%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.24 0.71%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $248.95 0.53%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $172.85 0.52%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $154.72 0.51%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $136.19 0.47%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $139.98 0.47%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $119.51 0.44%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.97 0.44%

Dow Jones - Fallers

General Electric Co. (GE) $17.88 -2.24%
Boeing Co. (BA) $271.38 -1.96%
Visa Inc. (V) $110.73 -1.65%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $71.01 -1.32%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $120.11 -1.10%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $59.88 -0.89%
3M Co. (MMM) $241.14 -0.82%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $226.78 -0.61%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $171.05 -0.47%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.68 -0.36%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Mylan Inc. (MYL) $38.12 4.35%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $21.51 3.41%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $373.47 3.21%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $336.27 3.08%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $57.22 2.53%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $38.43 2.37%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $19.46 2.31%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $21.17 2.02%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $18.40 1.77%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $103.87 1.59%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $212.58 -4.12%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $49.00 -2.95%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $254.07 -2.61%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $140.79 -2.43%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $107.06 -2.41%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $102.23 -2.40%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $187.81 -2.35%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $271.56 -2.30%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $40.85 -2.09%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $225.24 -2.08%

S&P 500 - Risers

Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $12.43 7.16%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $10.84 6.80%
Apache Corp. (APA) $44.22 5.71%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $29.24 4.58%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $38.12 4.35%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $16.68 3.99%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $14.44 3.51%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $373.47 3.21%
Navient Corporation (NAVI) $13.01 3.17%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $31.89 3.07%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Mattel Inc. (MAT) $17.26 -5.42%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $13.50 -4.26%
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) $10.28 -3.66%
Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $121.19 -3.53%
Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) $35.41 -3.12%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $74.21 -3.09%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $49.00 -2.95%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $60.30 -2.90%
Martin Marietta Mtrl (MLM) $202.66 -2.75%
Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) $164.93 -2.59%