Wall Street closes slightly lower on N. Korea worries

Major equity indexes in the U.S. failed to close the week on a positive note as the resurfacing geopolitical tension between North Korea and the United States hurt the market sentiment and the tech-giant Apple resumed its sharp slide. 

In response to the US President Donald Trump's threats at his UN speech, North Korea said it might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean. Commenting on this development, “it’s a little bit of a risk-off move. We seem to be getting a lot of rhetoric, both from the administration and North Korea, and it would be premature to say there is an end,” Marcelle Daher, senior managing director, asset allocation at Manulife Asset Management, told Reuters.

In the meantime, Apple shares lost nearly $2, or 1.2%, on Friday, weighing on the S&P Information Technology Index, which closed lower for the third straight day. Disappointing pre-order volume for the new iPhone and the mixed reviews for the new smartwatch had been the primary driver behind this week's freefall witnessed in Apple shares. 

Earlier in the session, healthcare stocks were the biggest losers of the day amid renewed efforts of Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare. However, Republican Senator John McCain's opposition to the updated bill allowed the S&P Health Care Index to pare its losses and close the day slightly higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 14.97 points, or 0.07%, to 22,344.26, the S&P 500 dropped 1.14 points, or 0.05%, to 2,501.74, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.35 points, or 0.04, to 6,425.04.

Headlines from the NA session:

• Bitcoin on track for third straight negative weekly close below $4000
• WTI settles above $50, records highest weekly close since May
• Fed's Kaplan "Open-minded" on one more rate increase this year in December
• US: Key events for next week - Danske Bank
• NY Fed's GDP Nowcast rose to 1.6% for Q3 of 2017
• What has changed in EM - BBH
• US Dollar upside lost momentum near 91.80
• US: Robust private sector growth sustained during September - Markit