Stocks closed out the week on another down note as investors continued to fret about the U.S.-China trade dispute.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 98 points today, leaving the blue-chip index with a decline of 2.6% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite slid 107 points today - 1.3% -- and lost 3.9% on the week.
A global decline in natural-gas prices is taking a toll on big oil companies. ExxonMobil said its second-quarter earnings fell 21% from a year ago as diminished returns for gas and petrochemicals offset production growth in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. Exxon’s share fell 1%.
But shares of Noble Energy jumped 7.4% after the company reported a smaller-than-forecast loss for the second quarter.
Oil futures rebounded after yesterday’s nearly 8% plunge. September crude rose 3.2% to settle at $55.66 a barrel.