Investing.com -- U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday amid steep declines in oil prices, as investors continued to react to dovish statements by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on the first full session since the U.S. central bank held short-term rates at near zero-levels on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 289.95 or 1.74% to 16,384.79, erasing all of its gains from earlier in the week, while the NASDAQ Composite lost 66.72 or 1.36% to close on Friday at 4,827.23. Both indices, though, were relatively flat for the week after falling by less than 0.5% during the span.
The S&P Composite index, meanwhile, fell by 32.12 or 1.61% to 1,958.08, as stocks in all 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy, Industrials and Basic Materials industries lagged, each falling by more than 1.5% on the session.
U.S. stocks were also pushed down by the expiration of four asset classes on Friday in what is known as a "quadruple witching" session. The rare sessions occur four times a year on the third Friday of March, June, September and December. During a quadruple witching session, Stock Index futures, Stock Index options, stock options and single stock futures all expire on the same day. Since futures and options close simultaneously, equity markets often experience increased trading volume.
The top performer on the Dow was Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 0.22 or 0.19% to 115.05. Nike finished just ahead of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which lost 0.47 or 0.41% to 113.45. Earlier on Friday, The Guardian reported that executives from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) met with officials from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to discuss their outlines for an "autonomous vehicle." All 30 components of the Dow closed lower on Friday.
The worst performer was Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which fell 1.83 or 3.39% to 52.13 at Friday's close. Shares in the pharmaceutical giant are now by more than 10% over the last year.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) which gained 0.94 or 1.17% to 81.25, one day after the San Jose-based computer software company posted record revenues during its previous quarter. The worst performer was Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX), which plunged 11.03 or 8.16% to 124.16, after a securities litigation firm announced it is launching an investigation into a possible breach of fiduciary duty by the company's Board of Directors.
The top performer on the S&P was Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY), which gained 2.15 or 3.46% to 64.34, one day after declaring a quarterly dividend of 0.37 per share on the 0.10 par value of its common stock. The New York-based pharmaceutical company also announced Thursday that its board has declared a 0.50 quarterly dividend on its convertible preferred stock, which will be payable in early-December. The worst performer was Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX), which plunged 1.17 or 9.71% to 10.88, amid continued softness in global commodity markets.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 2,181 to 933 margin.