Stocks seesaw on FBI inquiry into new Clinton emails

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 had been 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 Dow recovered somewhat -- up a mere 10 points, or less than 0.1 percent, at 3:30 p.m. -- before wobbling to a 10-point loss by the 4:00 p.m. close. The S&P 500 finished the session about 0.3 percent lower -- it too had been trading higher before the FBI’s renewed probe was announced -- and the Nasdaq ended about 0.5 percent off its lows for the session.

The market had been higher for much of the day after the government said Friday morning 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.

Bond prices held steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note stayed at 1.85 percent.