05:00 PM EDT, 07/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes declined Friday as markets weighed the potential impact of a major global technology outage and the latest corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9% to 40,287.5, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8% to 17,726.9. The S&P 500 lost 0.7% to 5,505. Among sectors, tech and energy saw the steepest declines, while health care and utilities closed higher.

For the week, the Nasdaq plunged 3.6%, while the S&P 500 shed 2%. The Dow rose 0.7%.

Global tech systems faced disruptions Friday following a CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) system update that impacted industries from airlines to broadcasters. CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) flagged "a defect found in a single content update for" Microsoft ( MSFT ) Windows hosts.

"We are working with all impacted customers to ensure that systems are back up and they can deliver the services their customers are counting on," CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) said in an update published at 1:25 pm ET.

"This is being billed as the largest overall IT outage in history," Scotiabank said in a note to clients.

Separately, Wedbush said it continues to see CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) as the "gold standard" in cybersecurity despite the outage. "We believe this historical incident will only be a dark chapter for the company and not impact the long-term bull story for the name," the brokerage said in a note to clients.

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) shares slumped 11%, the worst performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, while Microsoft ( MSFT ) fell 0.7%.

The US 10-year yield rose 5.2 basis points to 4.24%, while the two-year rate added 5.4 basis points to 4.51%.

In other company news, Travelers (TRV) shares declined 7.8%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500, after the property and casualty insurer reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings, while earned premiums fell short of analyst estimates.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) was the top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, up 9.3%. The robotic surgical systems company late Thursday logged better-than-expected results for the second quarter, driven by double-digit growth in procedure volumes.

Huntington Bancshares ( HBAN ) shares rose 3.9%, the third-best performer on the S&P 500, after the regional bank's second-quarter earnings topped Wall Street's estimates.

Starbucks ( SBUX ) was the second-top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, up 6.9%. Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has amassed a large stake in the coffee chain and has been pushing it privately on ways to increase its stock price, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3.1% to $80.26 a barrel.

Wells Fargo Investment Institute upgraded its rating on the S&P 500 Index Financials sector to favorable from unfavorable, citing the potential for outperformance as interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve "seem closer."

Earlier this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reportedly said policymakers won't wait for inflation to fall to 2% before reducing interest rates, while Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank was "getting closer" to easing monetary policy.

Wells Fargo Investment downgraded the consumer staples sector to unfavorable from neutral.

Gold decreased 2.3% to $2,401.10 per troy ounce, while silver lost 2.8% to $29.39 per ounce.