Stocks took a hit on Friday as investors remain cautious due to a resurgent Covid virus and a Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for next week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 200 points or 0.65%, dragged down by a 3% drop in Dow Inc. The S&P 500 shed 0.85% and the Nasdaq Composite lost roughly 1%.

The Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) two-day policy meeting next week should provide some clarity on the outlook for tapering and interest rates.

Shares of Invesco jumped 7% after the Wall Street Journal reported the money manager is in talks to combine with State Street’s asset-management business. Invesco manages about $1.5 trillion.

Technology stocks were mostly negative, with social media giant Facebook dropping 1%. Apple and Microsoft also lost 1%.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note advanced by 1.4 basis points to 1.345%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell less a basis point to 1.889%. Yields move inversely to prices.

The November crude contract was down 78 cents at US$71.59 per barrel.

Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,750.70 per ounce.