Stocks Closed Lower, Gained for the Week

U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, but preserved gains for the week, as weak oil prices pressured energy shares while uncertainty ahead of next week’s central bank meetings weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 88.68 points, or 0.49%, to 18,123.80, for a weekly gain of 0.2%. The S&P 500 declined 8.10 points, or 0.38%, to 2,139.16, for a weekly gain of 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.12 points, or 0.10%, to 5,244.57. The tech-heavy index logged a weekly gain of 2.3%.

Oil futures on Friday settled at lows last seen more than a month ago, suffering a sharp loss for the week as traders braced for an expected increase in oil exports from Libya and Nigeria. October West Texas Intermediate crude fell 88 cents, or 2%, to settle at $43.03 a barrel. November Brent crude fell 82 cents, or 1.8%, to $45.77 a barrel.

The net worth of U.S. households increased in the second quarter as a rebound in stock market prices and further gains in real estate values bolstered wealth, a report by the Federal Reserve showed on Friday. Household net worth increased to $89.1 trillion over the quarter, up from a slightly downwardly revised $88.0 trillion in the previous period.

Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) said Friday afternoon it will buy Abbott Laboratories (ABT) subsidiary Abbott Medical Optics for $4.3 billion in cash. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, will include ophthalmic products in the company’s cataract surgery, laser refractive surgery and consumer eye health segments. Abbott Medical Optics reported 2015 sales of $1.1 billion.

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