Stocks Wilt After FBI Inquiry Into New Clinton Emails

A midday advance on the stock market wilted in afternoon trading Friday after the FBI notified Congress that it will investigate new emails linked to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The market had started out on a strong note after the government reported that the economy broke out of a slump in the third quarter and grew at the fastest pace in two years.

The early climb was led by industrial, energy and technology companies, but the gains disappeared after the FBI made its announcement at about 1 p.m. Eastern. Clinton has led in recent polls, and the surprise development added new uncertainty just a week and a half before the presidential election.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 8.49 points, less than 0.1 percent, at 18,161.19. The index was 80 points higher shortly before the new inquiry was disclosed, then went down as much as 74 points in the minutes that followed.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped 6.63 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,126.41. The Nasdaq composite slid 25.87 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,190.10.

Health-care companies took the biggest losses. Prescription drug distributor McKesson plunged to a three-year low after its revenue fell about $1.5 billion short of estimates. The company slashed its annual outlook because of weaker drug prices, and investors worried that McKesson and its rivals will compete by making bigger cuts in prices.

McKesson tumbled $36.39, or 22.7 percent, to $124.11 and competitor AmerisourceBergen lost $10.36, or 13 percent, to $69.14 while Cardinal Health shed $7.30, or 9.8 percent, to $67.50.

Health-care stocks are the worst performing part of the market this year. They’re down 6 percent while the S&P 500 is up 4 percent. Their performance compared to the rest of the market has gotten even worse over the last few months.

Earlier, stocks rose after the economy grew faster than expected during the third quarter. The Commerce Department said exports grew and more businesses restocked their shelves. In total, gross domestic product grew 2.9 percent. Growth had slowed down late last year.

Amazon sank after its profit came up short of analysts’ estimates. The company also released a weak outlook. It’s stock fell $42.04, or 5.1 percent, to $776.32.

U.S. crude fell $1.02, or 2.1 percent, to $48.70 a barrel in New York. That was its lowest price this month. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 76 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $49.71 a barrel in London.

Bond prices edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.84 percent from 1.85 percent.

The dollar slipped to 104.78 yen from 105.29 yen. The euro rose to $1.0982 from $1.0898.

Metals turned higher. The price of gold picked up $7.30 to $1,276.80 an ounce. Silver rose 16 cents to $17.80 an ounce. Copper added 3 cents to $2.19 a pound.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline lost 2 cents to $1.47 a gallon. Heating oil gave up 3 cents to $1.54 a gallon and natural gas rose 4 cents to $3.11 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Overseas, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.3 percent and the FTSE 100 in Britain picked up 0.1 percent. Germany’s DAX edged down 0.2 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.6 percent and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2 percent. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng lost 0.8 percent.