Investing.com - Wall Street closed lower Friday as uncertainty on trade dominated direction after President Donald Trump's upbeat comments on U.S.-China trade relations appeared to contradict earlier comments from his chief economic advisor.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 0.43%. The S&P 500 fell 0.63%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.04%.
"President Xi (Jinping) and I have agreed to meet at the G20 summit," Trump told reporters Friday. Trump added that "a lot of progress" had been made toward reaching a deal that would be "very fair for everybody."
Trade-sensitive names such as Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) ended mixed as investors digested differing comments on trade.
Trump's comments seemingly contradicted earlier remarks from White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow, who indicated little progress had been made with China, denying reports that the president had asked his Cabinet to put together a trade deal with the country.
Bloomberg reported earlier Friday that Trump had asked officials to prepare a draft for a U.S.-China trade deal.
Beyond trade, tech stocks wreaked havoc on the broader market, led by a slump in shares of Apple.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 7% after its above-forecast earnings and revenue was overshadowed by soft guidance and weaker-than-expected iPhone shipments in the last quarter.
The S&P 500 technology sector fell about 2%.
Adding to fears that U.S. corporates are nearing peak profit growth, Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) posted earnings that fell short of expectations, as margins were squeezed by rising costs and lower prices. Its shares fell 9%.
Energy, meanwhile, shrugged off a fall in oil prices on the back of oversupply worries after the United States said it would give waivers to eight Iranian crude customers. U.S. oil prices fell 6.6% this week.
In economic news, the United States created more jobs than expected last month, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise rates, sending government bond yields surging.
The Labor Department said Friday nonfarm payroll employment increased by 250,000 jobs in October, beating economists' estimates for 193,000 new jobs. While the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7%.
The benchmark United States 10-Year yield traded around 3.22% while the United States 2-Year climbed to 2.92%, its highest level in a decade.
In corporate news, Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) was up slightly in after-hours trade after the social media company deleted more than 10,000 automated twitter accounts discouraging people from voting in the midterm elections, according to a report Reuters.
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN), Newell Brands (NYSE:NWL) and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT), Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) and Synchrony (NYSE:SYF) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.