Stocks Drop on Budget Fight Worries

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Friday as investors worry about a looming budget fight in Washington. The Dow industrials were down 185.46 points, or 1.19%, at 15,451.09. The S&P 500 index shed 12.43 points, or 0.72%, to 1,709.91. The Nasdaq Composite declined 14.65 points, or 0.39%, to 3,774.73.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, a voter on policy this year who has backed record stimulus, said the Fed may make a small trim to bond buying in October after its close decision this week not to taper purchases.

California’s jobs report Friday showed the state added 29,100 net payroll jobs even as the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.9% from 8.7% the month before.

Cybersecurity firm ZScaler is pushing up its IPO plans by six to nine months after a doubling in FireEye Inc’s (FEYE.O) share price on its market debut on Friday underscored the pent-up demand for companies that specialize in battling online crime.

BlackBerry says it will lay off 4,500 employees, or 40% of its global workforce, as it reports a nearly $1 billion second-quarter loss in a surprise early release of earnings results.