4:17pm: Nasdaq, S&P fall for the third week in a row
The Dow closed Friday down 107 points, 0.3%, at 33,964, the Nasdaq Composite slid 12 points, 0.1%, to 13,212 and the S&P 500 declined 10 points, 0.2%, to 4,320. The small-cap Russell 2000 index fell 5 points, 0.3%, to 1,777.
On the week, the Nasdaq dropped 3.6% while the S&P 500 slipped 2.9%, in what was the third-straight losing week for both indexes. The Dow fell 1.9% on the week.
Investors became increasingly concerned this week with the possibility of a government shutdown looming at the end of the month without a budget deal in Congress. House Republicans sent the chamber in recess on Thursday.
“Investors are staring at the ground right now worried about a shutdown,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial. “Markets are just sort of waiting around to see when it happens, and then trying to discount the duration of it.”
12:05pm: Wall Street headed for steep weekly loss
US stocks were higher in noon trading in a volatile week after the Federal Reserve spooked the market with its "higher for longer" interest rate speak.
At midday, the Dow gained 18 points to 34,086, while the S&P 500 added 15 points at 4,345 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 93 points to 13,317.
"Investors are getting used to these higher rate levels and what that means for risk assets going forward," Allianz Investment Management senior investment strategist Charlie Ripley said.
Notable movers included shares of Ford Motor Co, which rose 3% following media reports the auto giant was making progress in negotiations with the striking United Auto Workers union.
9:43am: US stocks make steady progress
US stocks opened modestly higher on Friday, breaking a three-day losing streak, but remain on track for hefty losses this week.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 4.43 points at 34,074.85, the S&P was up 6.90 points, 0.2%, at 4,336.90 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 30.65 points, 0.2%, at 13,254.63.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) rose 0.8% after it reiterated that it expects to generate about $65 billion in annual revenue by the 2026 fiscal year, a target it first shared with investors a year ago.
Activision Blizzard climbed 1.8% after the UK's competition watchdog said a new restructured deal from Microsoft substantially addresses its concerns over cloud gaming.
Amazon was another share in the green, up 1.3%, after it said in a blog post that it will introduce advertising on its streaming services in countries such as the US and UK.
Eslewhere, the US and China announced two new working groups on economic and financial policy, in the latest effort to stabilize fraught relations between the world's biggest economies.
The formation of the groups was agreed during talks in July between US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing, the Treasury Department said.
Still to come, S&P PMI figures.
7:00am: Nasdaq seen higher but stocks on track for losing week
US stocks are expected to rally at the open on Friday, led by tech stocks, after three days of falls after the Federal Reserve signalled interest rates would stay higher, for longer.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% higher, while those for the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.4%.
There was good news for Microsoft Corp, which rose 0.2% in pre-market trading after its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard drew closer to completion after the UK's competition watchdog said a new restructured deal substantially addresses its concerns over cloud gaming. Activision shares jumped 1.8%.
Amazon is to introduce advertising on its streaming services in countries such as the US and UK.
In a blog post on Friday, Amazon said Prime Video content will include “limited” adverts from early next year to enable it to continue investing in TV content and increase investment “over a long period of time”.
S&P Global will release its US flash purchasing managers' indices for September, which are expected to rise.
Economists forecast manufacturing PMI to tick up to 48, compared with 47 in August, and services PMI at 50.6, up slightly from 50.5 in the prior month.
A reading above 50 indicates the majority of business owners reporting an expansion.
Elsewhere, US Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook will give the keynote address at the National Bureau of Economic Research Economics of Artificial Intelligence Conference in Toronto.