U.S. stocks got slaughtered into the monthly options expiration Friday, with the major indices all tumbling by 3.1% to 3.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also entered correction territory, falling more than 10% from its July highs.
Technology, energy and consumer discretionary names led the way lower on the session.
Fresh Market (TFM) was the session's biggest loser, falling 26% as the company is facing increased competition. On the other hand, Brocade (BRCD) beat the downtrend and gained 9% in response to good quarterly results.
Elsewhere in the marketplace, crude oil and natural gas both dropped more than 2% today, while the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) fell by 1.1%. Conversely, spot gold gained for the fifth straight session, while the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) gained more than 46% to 28.03.
Looking ahead to next week, Best Buy (BBY) is scheduled to post quarterly results on Tuesday, followed on Thursday by fellow retailers Dollar General (DG), GameStop (GME) and Tiffany (TIF).
It'll also be a busy week on the economic front, beginning with the Purchasing Managers Index and some housing data on Tuesday. Wednesday offers durable-goods orders, followed by the first revision of second-quarter GDP growth on Thursday.
