Investing.com – Wall Street closed lower on Friday, weighed by a fall in technology as investors doubted the government’s ability to push through tax-reform before the end of the year despite bullish comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower at 23,362.63. The S&P 500 closed 0.26% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6782.79, down 0.15%.
As markets edged closer to the final wave of corporate earnings for the third quarter, investor attention shifted to the prospect of tax reform being enacting before the end of year following upbeat comments from Steven Mnuchin.
"We're very excited about the timeline," Mnuchin said. "We're going to have the Senate, as soon as they get back from Thanksgiving, vote on the bill." Mnuchin said.
The Sentate, however, is not expected to vote on their version of bill – which significantly differs from the Republican’s version – until after Thanksgiving, dampening the prospect of tax-reform being passed before the year end as there is limited time left on the legislative calendar for this year.
On the economic data front, meanwhile, housing starts rose to their highest since Oct 2016, pointing to underlying strength in the US economy, that, however, failed to lift sentiment on the broader market.
Housing starts surged 13.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.29 million units, the Commerce Department said on Friday.
On the corporate earnings front, footlocker surged after posting earnings that beat on both the top and bottom line that lifted sentiment on sport-apparel manufacturer Nike as its shares closed more than 3% higher.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) up 1.2%, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) up 1.4% and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) up 0.1%
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) down 2.2%, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) down 2.2% and Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) down 1.5%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.