NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
U.S. stocks tumbled Friday as a technology selloff spread to other sectors, taking the markets lower for the day and the week.
The Nasdaq composite (down 37.09 to 1930.26, Charts) lost 1.9 percent, while the Dow Jones industrial average (down 69.26 to 9768.68, Charts) and the Standard & Poor's 500 (down 8.06 to 1050.35, Charts) index both lost around 0.7 percent. It was the first down week for the major indexes in three.
For the week, the Nasdaq lost 2.1 percent, the Dow lost 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 lost almost 0.3 percent.
Next week -- the last full week of trading before the Thanksgiving holiday -- has been an historically strong one for the market in years past. The S&P 500 has gained that week over the last 11 years, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. But seasonal factors aside, with only a few key earnings reports and market-moving economic data due, stocks could end up swaying in a small range next week.
"I think that next week is going to be trying," said Peter Green, a market analyst at MKM Partners. "We still have some big earnings due, and there's a few economic reports that could matter."
"Stocks have priced in a lot of good news right now and you're seeing that in effect," Green added. "Good news is bad news and bad news is bad news."
A number of retailers will report results next week. On Monday, Lowe's (LOW: up $0.68 to $58.63, Research, Estimates) and Toys R Us (TOY: down $0.26 to $12.74, Research, Estimates) are due, and on Tuesday, Home Depot (HD: down $0.13 to $36.19, Research, Estimates) and Staples (SPLS: down $0.95 to $25.46, Research, Estimates) are expected.
Reports are due on Monday on business inventories and on manufacturing in the New York State region. Inventories in September are expected to show no change after falling 0.4 percent in the previous month. The NY Empire State index for November is expected to fall to 27 from 33.7 last month.
Friday's market
Technology declines plagued the market in particular Friday, with investors taking profits on companies that surged mid-week and, on a broader level, have been advancing all year. Lately, stronger earnings from influential technology names like Dell and Applied Materials haven't transferred to gains for the individual stocks. (For more on this trend, click here.)
But the selling wasn't contained within technology. Of the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow industrials, 25 closed lower.
Morning reports showing strength in consumer confidence and a dip in retail sales seemed to cancel each other out insofar as influencing direction. There were no major quarterly earnings released Friday.
"In general, the news continues to be mostly good, but people are now waiting to see what the next rotation will be in stocks, or what the next catalyst will be to move the market higher," said Michael Carty, principal at New Millennium Advisors.
Software was among the weakest groups in the session. BEA Systems' (BEAS: down $1.46 to $12.64, Research, Estimates) shares fell 10.3 percent after the company's otherwise improved third-quarter earnings report also showed that software license revenue came in lower than analysts were expecting. In addition, Portal Software (PRSF: down $6.86 to $8.40, Research, Estimates) shares fell nearly 45 percent after the company warned that it would post much weaker results than analysts were expecting, due to contract delays and other deferrals.
Dell (DELL: down $0.40 to $35.24, Research, Estimates) reported its third-quarter earnings just before the close of trade Thursday, rather than after trading hours, as had been expected. The company said it earned 26 cents per share, in line with expectations and a nickel more than it earned a year ago on revenue that beat estimates and grew from a year earlier. (For more on Dell, click here.) However, the stock edged lower Friday.
Strong results from Applied Materials (AMAT: down $1.26 to $23.48, Research, Estimates), released Wednesday night, continued to be shrugged off by investors and the chip-gear maker lost 5.1 percent in active Nasdaq trade.
"I think AMAT's a telling story," said MKM Partners' Green. "It's telling me that the market is tired."
Intel (INTC: down $0.98 to $32.80, Research, Estimates) lost 2.9 percent and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: down $0.43 to $17.86, Research, Estimates) lost 2.3 percent as investors pulled back from the semiconductor sector, which is up more than 80 percent this year.
Among the stocks moving higher, pharmaceutical issues stood out. Merck (MRK: up $0.78 to $46.58, Research, Estimates) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: up $2.02 to $52.12, Research, Estimates) continued to shine following a bullish analyst note Thursday from Deutsche Bank and in response to investors moving some money out of other sectors and into drugs, which have been among the worst-performing sectors this year. Positive trial data for Pfizer's (PFE: up $0.63 to $34.08, Research, Estimates) cholesterol treatment, Lipitor, continued to boost that stock.
Economic news mixed
If, as some analysts have suggested, Wal-Mart's cautious outlook on Thursday inspired fears that a slowdown in consumer spending is on the horizon, Friday's October retail sales data certainly didn't ease such worries.
Retail sales fell 0.3 percent last month after falling a revised 0.4 percent in September, the government said. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected a fall of 0.2 percent. Sales excluding autos rose 0.2 percent in October, in line with economists' expectations.
The University of Michigan's preliminary index of consumer sentiment showed sentiment in November rising to 93.5 from 89.6 last month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting a rise to 91.3.
In other economic news, wholesale prices rose more sharply than expected in October, while industrial output growth slowed down last month.
Treasury prices edged higher, with the 10-year note's yield falling to 4.25 percent. The dollar weakened against the euro and gained slightly on the yen.
Market breadth was negative on light volume. Decliners topped advancers 9 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where 1.32 billion shares changed hands. Losers beat winners by more than 2 to 1 on the Nasdaq, where 1.81 billion shares traded.
NYMEX oil futures rose 35 cents to settle at $31.78 a barrel. COMEX gold added $3.70 to settle at $398.
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