Stocks Slip as Quarter Ends

Updated from 4:12 p.m. EDT

Stocks in the U.S. closed the third quarter with minor losses Friday, as market participants digested a host of economic data and a string of comments about the possibility of a recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 17.31 points, or 0.12%, at 13,895.63. The S&P 500 was off 4.63 points, or 0.3%, at 1526.75, and the Nasdaq Composite was 8.09 points, or 0.3%, lower at 2701.50.

Breadth was negative and volume was weaker. On the New York Stock Exchange, 2.98 billion shares changed hands, as decliners topped advancers by a 9-to-7 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.91 billion shares, with losers outpacing winners almost 3 to 2. ...