Stocks Ended Lower on Tax Plan Uncertainty

U.S. stocks ended modestly lower on Friday, as investors weighed prospects for corporate tax cuts and assessed another round of corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 100.12 points, or 0.43%, to 23,358.24. The S&P 500 lost 6.79 points, or 0.26%, to 2,578.85. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 10.50 points, or 0.15%, to 6,782.79. For the week, the Dow declined 0.3%., the S&P posted a weekly loss of 0.1%, while Nasdaq saw a 0.5% weekly rise.

Oil prices jumped Friday, rebounding from a two-week low, but the move was not enough to save prices from their first weekly decline in six weeks. December West Texas Intermediate crude allied by $1.41, or 2.6%, to settle at $56.55 a barrel. Brent for January gained $1.36, or 2.2%, to $62.72 a barrel. For the week, WTI still suffered a 0.3% slump, while Brent lost about 1.3%.