Top Dow Stocks Have Rough Session

Blue-chip stocks sank for a second straight session Friday, languishing behind broader market measures, as worries about higher interest rates sapped enthusiasm for highly priced stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 136.14 points to close at 10,655.15, adding to a 180-point plunge Thursday. It was the lowest close since June 28.

The blue-chip index tumbled 245.81 points, or 2.3 percent, for the week and dropped 2.9 percent for the month of July.

Broader market indexes posted more moderate losses. The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 12.31 to 1,328.72, and the Nasdaq composite index dipped 1.52 to 2,638.52.

“Sometimes only the blue chips count, and if you measure by the Dow, it’s another lousy day for the market,” said Barry Hyman, senior equity analyst at Ehrenkrantz King Nussbaum. Still, the Dow is up 16.2 percent so far this year, well above the modest expectations of analysts when the year began.

Friday’s selloff was an extension of a slump sparked Thursday when the Labor Department said its Employment Cost Index rose 1.1 percent in the second quarter, a bigger-than-expected jump.