Social media companies push US stocks lower
US stocks ended lower on Friday as disappointing earnings from Snap spooked investors and shares in social media and ad tech firms dropped, offsetting gains from card issuer American Express following an upbeat forecast. Still, all three major indexes posted weekly gains despite Friday's losses with the tech heavy Nasdaq closing out the week 3.3 percent higher. The S&P 500 advanced 2.4 percent, and the Dow gained 2 percent. Snapchat owner posted its weakest-ever quarterly sales growth as a public company, sending Snap's shares down nearly 40 percent, while Twitter reversed earlier losses to add 0.8 percent following a surprise fall in revenue. Other online companies that depend heavily on ads, such as tech giants Meta Platforms and Alphabet tumbled 7.6 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, weighing on the Nasdaq. Meta and Alphabet are set to post their earnings next week, along with mega-cap peers, including Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.com.  The S&P 500 communication services and information technology tumbled 4.3 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, leading declines among the index's 11 sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.43 percent, to 31,899, the S&P 500 lost 0.93 percent, to 3,962 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.87 percent to 11,834. (Reuters)