Stocks Opened Lower after Internet Giants Disappointed

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, after underwhelming quarterly financial results from major internet companies unnerved markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped 317.15 points, or 1.27%, to 24,667.40. The S&P 500 fell 48.66 points, or 1.80%, to 2,656.91. The Nasdaq Composite sank 172.50 points, or 2.36%, to 7,145.84.

Oil futures fell Friday as traders continued to take their cues from global equity markets. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell $78 cents, or 1.2%, to $66.55 a barrel. December Brent crude was off 69 cents, or 0.9%, to $76.20 a barrel.

The US economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.5% during the third quarter of 2018, according to first estimates released Friday from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This represented a slowdown from the 4.2% pace of growth in the previous period but came in above consensus expectations of a 3.3% rate anticipated by economists.

Amazon.com Inc. continues to report record profit, but sales growth is leveling off. Amazon reported third-quarter profit of $2.9 billion, or $5.75 a share. Amazon expected sales in the fourth quarter to be $66.5 billion to $72.5 billion.