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Payments firm Block falls as Q4 profit misses estimates

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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) drops after report of DOJ investigation

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Indexes set for steep weekly percentage losses

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Indexes down: Dow 1.68%, S&P 500 1.53%, Nasdaq 1.91%

(Updates to mid-afternoon)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street tumbled on

Friday, extending its selloff in the wake of dour economic

reports, closing the door on a holiday-shortened weak fraught

with new tariff threats and worries of softening consumer

demand.

All three major U.S. stock indexes moved decisively lower on

the heels of the data, and continued their slide into afternoon

trading.

The indexes are on track to post weekly losses, with the S&P

500 and the Nasdaq setting course for their biggest weekly drop

since early January, and the Dow on the road to its largest

Friday-to-Friday plunge since mid-October.

Economic data showed U.S. business activity decelerating and

consumer sentiment deteriorating, with survey participants

expressing an increasingly gloomy outlook in the face of

economic unknowns.

U.S. businesses' optimism has "evaporated," according to PMI

commentary provided by S&P Global's chief economist Chris

Williamson, amid "a darkening picture of heightened

uncertainty."

"The Michigan survey data, showed a significant retreat (in

sentiment)," said Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify

Asset Management in Philadelphia. "The key story here continues

to be a tremendous amount of uncertainty ... it feels like we

could walk in tomorrow and markets could be down 20%"

Economically sensitive sectors, such as Dow Transports

, chips, smallcaps, housing, and

consumer discretionary slid more than 2%.

Megacap momentum stocks were off 2.6%, and among

the "magnificent 7" group all but Apple ( AAPL ) were down more

than 1%, with Alphabet, Nvidia Amazon

and Tesla down between 2.4% and 5.0%.

The CBOE volatility index touched its highest level

since February 4.

This week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he will soon

announce new tariffs covering lumber and forest products, in

addition to previously announced plans to impose duties on

imported cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 744.20 points,

or 1.68%, to 43,432.45, the S&P 500 lost 92.98 points, or

1.53%, to 6,024.54 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 381.12

points, or 1.91%, to 19,581.24.

Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, all but

consumer staples were lower, with consumer

discretionary and industrials suffering the steepest

percentage losses.

Fourth-quarter earnings season is on the final stretch, with

425 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those,

76% have beaten Wall Street expectations, according to LSEG.

Analysts now see aggregate fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings

growth of 15.7% year-on-year, a significant improvement over the

7.8% annual growth prediction as on Jan. 1, per LSEG.

Shares of UnitedHealth ( UNH ) tumbled 6.9% following a Wall

Street Journal report that the Department of Justice has

launched an investigation into the health insurer's Medicare

billing practices.

Block tumbled 17.9% after the payment firm's

fourth-quarter profit fell short of estimates.

Akamai Technologies ( AKAM ) dropped 20.6% as the

cybersecurity company forecast annual 2025 revenue below

estimates.

Electric vehicle makers Tesla, Rivian were

off 4.9% and 4.0%, respectively, after they both announced

recalls.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.44-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE. There were 86 new highs and 94 new lows on the

NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 1,117 stocks rose and 3,216 fell as declining

issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.88-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and 7 new lows while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 65 new highs and 113 new lows.