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U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, but preserved gains for the week, as oil prices dropped and investors fretted ahead of central bank policy meetings next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 88.68 points, or 0.5%, to 18,123.80, for a weekly gain of 0.2%. The S&P 500 index , under fire from the energy and financials sectors, declined 8.11 points, or 0.4%, to close at 2,139.15, for a weekly gain of 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite index slipped 5.12 points, or 0.1%, to finish at 5,244.57. The tech-heavy index logged a weekly gain of 2.3% as Apple Inc. shares rose more than 11% on the week.

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From:: Stock Market News

Johnson and Johnson said Friday afternoon it will buy Abbott Laboratories 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. Johnson & Johnson’s Ashley McEvoy said the acquisition was a way to become “a more broad-based leader in vision care,” and described eye health as a large, quickly-growing and underserved health care segment. Johnson & Johnson shares rose 1.5% over the last three months, compared with a 2.8% rise in the S&P 500 . Abbott shares rose 1.3% in late afternoon trade after the deal was announced.

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil futures settled Friday at their lowest level in more than five weeks, pressured by expectations for a rise in crude exports from Nigeria and Libya. Prices tallied a loss of over 6% for the week. October West Texas Intermediate crude fell 88 cents, or 2%, for the session to settle at $43.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That’s the lowest settlement since Aug. 10 and prices fell 6.2% for the week, according to FactSet data.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold futures settled Friday at their lowest level since June as traders searched the latest U.S. economic data for clues on the timing and pace of interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve. The Fed, as well as the Bank of Japan, are set to hold policy meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday and the outcomes and their impact on the U.S. dollar will influence the price direction of gold. December gold fell $7.80, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,310.20 an ounce on Friday. That was the lowest settlement since June 23, and it lost 1.8% for the week, according to FactSet data.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil futures continued to decline Friday after data from Baker Hughes revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil climbed by 2 to 416 rigs this week. They have now posted increases in 11 out of the last 12 weeks. However, the total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, edged down by 2 to 506, Baker Hughes said. October crude was at $42.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 94 cents, or 2.1%, from Thursday’s settlement. It traded around $42.93 before the rig data.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News