Stocks – S&P Knocked Down by Boeing, JNJ, China

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Investing.com – Stocks finished the week on a down note on slumps in Boeing (NYSE:) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:), plus new worries about Chinese economic growth.

The was off 0.39%. But the slumped 0.95%, or more than 255 points, and the dropped 0.83%.

Just about all of the Dow’s decline was due to Boeing’s (NYSE:) 6.8% loss and a 6.2% decline for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:). The two subtracted more than 227 points from the price-weighted blue-chip index.

The higher a stock’s price, the more impact it has on the index. And gains for other stocks can be overshadowed by a big more from a stock with a big price.

In fact, 14 of the 30 stocks were higher, with Coca-Cola (NYSE:), up 1.8% on the better-than-expected third-quarter results, and Verizon Communications (NYSE:), up 1.06%.

Boeing’s slump came after Reuters reported that text messages between two employees suggested the planemaker misled the Federal Aviation Administration about the safety of the grounded 737 MAX aircraft.

Johnson & Johnson fell after announcing it would recall baby powder in the United States after regulators found trace amounts of asbestos in a sample

The S&P 500, meanwhile, finished under 3,000 for the 21st-straight session.

The Nasdaq was weighed down by weakness in tech stocks, especially chip stocks. The dropped 1.15, in large part due to worries about China, which reported its gross domestic product growth rate dropped to 6% year over year, its weakest pace in nearly 30 years. The slide is largely the effect of the U.S.-China trade fight.

Thanks to the Dow’s drubbing on Friday, the index ended the week down 0.17%, its fourth weekly loss in five weeks. The , far more diverse, was up 0.54% for the week, its second straight gain. The Nasdaq added 0.4%, its third weekly gain in row.

For the year, the is up nearly 14.8%. The S&P 500 is up 19.1%, with the Nasdaq up 21,9%.

The necessary caveat is that the gains came mostly in the first quarter as the market recovered from last fall’s big dive.

The Dow is off 0.67% from its 2018 peak, along with a 0.54% decline from the same peak for the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 is up 1.54%.

But the worries weighed on the and the S&P 500 as well because so many U.S. companies have looked to China as a major source of new sales.

Seven of the 11 S&P sectors were lower, but there was considerable strength in real estate, financial and utility stocks as interest rates were flat to lower.

The Treasury yield fell to 1.75% from Thursday’s 1.755%, It could go lower if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates at its Oct. 29-30 meeting. The odds of that happening stood at nearly 90% late Friday.

Apartment companies, including AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:) and Apartment Investment and Management (NYSE:), hit new highs along with Home Depot (NYSE:) and Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:).

Other stocks hitting new highs included Celgene (NASDAQ:), Crocs (NASDAQ:), Nike (NYSE:) and Kansas City Southern (NYSE:).

Apple (NASDAQ:), up 0.48% on the day, ended the week as the most valuable company in the world with a $1.068 trillion market capitalization. Microsoft (NASDAQ:), down 1.63% on Friday, ended with a $1.048 trillion market cap.

Robotic surgical-equipment maker Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:), investment manager State Street (NYSE:), brokerage E-TRADE Financial (NASDAQ:) and New England bank People’s United Financial (NASDAQ:) were among the top performers.

Women’s apparel maker L Brands (NYSE:), Boeing (NYSE:), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) and Netflix (NASDAQ:)were among the weakest S&P 500 performers.

Oil prices moved lower. crude fell to 15 cents to $53.78 a barrel. crude fell 49 cents to $59.42.

futures fell to $1,494.10 an ounce in New York, down $4.20.