Stocks End Month in the Red

U.S. stocks ended a turbulent Friday trading session with big losses, as investors grappled with downbeat gross domestic product data, less-than-stellar earnings that overshadowed a bounce in crude-oil futures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 251.90 points, or 1.45%, to 17,164.95, declined 2.9% over the past week and lost 3.7% over the month. The S&P 500 was down 26.26 points, or 1.30%, to 1,994.99, fell 2.8% last week and ended the month with a loss of 3.1%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 48.17 points, or 1.03%, to 4,635.24, lost 2.6% over the week and ended the month 2.1% lower.

U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter as weak business spending and a wider trade deficit offset the fastest pace of consumer spending since 2006.Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.6 percent annual pace after the third quarter’s spectacular 5 percent rate, the Commerce Department said in its first GDP snapshot on Friday.

Oil prices rocketed more than 8 percent higher on Friday, their biggest one-day gain in two and a half years, after data showed U.S. drillers were slamming the brakes on the shale drilling boom. U.S. oil futures finished up $3.71 at $48.24 a barrel, soaring by nearly $3 in a final frenzied hour.

Costco Wholesale Corp. said Friday that it will spend $2.2 billion to pay out a one-time dividend of $5 a share. Costco said the special dividend, which is in addition to its quarterly dividend of 36 cents a share, will be funded through existing cash and additional borrowings.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) hit a record of $120 Friday on a split-adjusted basis on continued momentum from stellar results. The iPhone maker earlier this week reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $3.06 a share on strong iPhone demand.