U.S. stocks quickly turned lower Friday afternoon after the FBI notified Congress that it will investigate new emails found in a probe of a private server that belonged to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. That injected a note of uncertainty just a week and a half before the presidential election.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 60 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,109 as of 1:37 p.m. Eastern time. The index was up 80 points before the new inquiry was disclosed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dipped 11 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,121. The Nasdaq composite slid 26 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,189.
The market had been higher for much of the day after the government said the economy broke out of its recent slump and grew faster than expected during the third quarter. Those gains faded quickly after the FBI's announcement, which occurred at about 1 p.m. Eastern. The Commerce Department said exports grew and more businesses restocked their shelves. In total, gross domestic product grew 2.9 percent, which was better than economists expected. Growth had slowed down late last year, causing worry among investors.