Stocks slip as health care device companies stumble

So that’s what a losing streak feels like. Stocks fell for the second day in a row Friday, which hadn’t happened in a month, as Amazon put a scare into yet another industry: medical device and health care equipment companies.

Those companies slumped after an analyst for Citi Investment Research said Amazon might be on the verge of shaking up their industry by speeding up distribution and cutting prices. Energy companies gave up some of their recent gains while retailers, media companies and household goods companies moved higher. Stocks finished the week with small losses, ending an eight-week winning streak.

One factor in those losses was uncertainty over the Republican plan to cut taxes. Stocks slipped Thursday after Senate Republicans proposed leaving corporate tax rates alone in 2018 before cutting them in 2019. That surprised investors, who pulled stocks down slightly from their recent record highs.

Sean Lynch, co-head of global equity strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said an eventual tax cut for companies, and for at least some individuals, would give investors “a dose of confidence.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 0.1 percent, to 2,582.30. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 39.73 points, or 0.2 percent, to 23,422.21. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.89 points to 6,570.94.

The S&P 500 set an all-time high Wednesday, but finished the week down 0.2 percent.