Stocks Ended Marginally Lower on Tax Delay Concerns

U.S. stocks ended marginally lower on Friday, as investors worried about the future of promised corporate tax cuts. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week lower for the first time in nine weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.76 points, or 0.17%, to 23,422.21. The S&P 500 lost 2.32 points, or 0.09%, to 2,582.30. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.89 point, or 0.01%, to 6,750.94. For the week, the Dow lost 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.21 percent. The Nasdaq gave up 0.2 percent for the week

Oil futures ended a strong week on a down note Friday, maintaining losses after data showed U.S. drillers added rigs. Brent crude fell 41 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $63.52 a barrel. The contract saw a 2% rise for the week. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures declined 43 cents, or 0.8% to $56.74 a barrel. For the week, WTI rose 2.3%.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said sales topped 10 billion yuan ($1.51 billion) in just over three minutes from the opening of Singles’ Day, an annual online discount sales gala that has become the world’s biggest shopping spree.