Investing.com -- Plunging oil prices and a rapidly appreciating dollar spooked equities markets on Friday the 13th, as U.S. stocks fell sharply to conclude a volatile week.
In spite of a late rally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 125 on Friday -- marking the third time out of the last four weeks that it has closed lower. The NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 Composite index also closed down on Friday, as the sell-off for the month intensifies.
On the Dow, only two stocks closed in green territory as it fell 145.91 points or 0.82% to 17,749.31. The NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.49% or 21.53 points to close at 4,871.76, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.61% or 12.55 to 2,053.40. All 10 sectors on the S&P 500 were down for the day, with utilities, basic materials and industrials lagging.
The top performer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average was Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which gained 0.14 or 0.35% to 41.17. The worst performer on the Dow, meanwhile, was International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) which lost 2.67% or 4.22 to close at 153.76.
On the NASDAQ, NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) rose more than 6.47% to close the session as the top performer on the index. The Dutch semiconductor company ended the week at 104.96, after analysts at Needham upgraded its stock to a strong buy. The evaluation comes less than two weeks after NXP's merger with Freescale Semiconductor Ltd (NYSE:FSL) in a $40 billion deal. NXP Semiconductors is up more than 70% on the year.
The worst performer on the NASDAQ was Mylan Inc . (NASDAQ:MYL) which dropped 4.19% on Friday to 59.69, two days after spiking more than 7% following the launch of a line of drugs to combat pain dependence. In addition, rumors persist that the Pennsylvania-based pharmaceutical company could merge with fellow drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
On the S&P 500, the biggest gainer was Leggett & Platt Incorporated (NYSE:LEG) which rose 3.18% or 1.40 to 45.46. Shares in the Missouri-based manufacturer of engineering parts moved higher after it announced a dividend of more than 0.30 earlier in the week. The worst performer was ENSCO plc (NYSE:ESV), which lost 6.80% or 1.49 to 20.41 as the price of WTI crude dipped below $45.