Stocks end lower, led by energy

NEW YORK - Stocks closed modestly lower Friday as oil titans ExxonMobil and Chevron led a slump in energy stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 56.12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,689.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 4.79 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,103.84. The Nasdaq composite closed little changed, down half a point to 5,128.28.

It was a seesaw week for the market, but all three major indexes closed higher by roughly 1 percent.

Shares of ExxonMobil and Chevron, the two largest publicly traded energy companies, fell roughly 5 percent for each on Friday. Both companies posted major declines in their year-over-year profits, largely because of the big drop in the price of oil.

In the case of ExxonMobil, earnings fell 52 percent from a year earlier, causing the company to report its lowest quarterly profit since June 2009. ExxonMobil shares fell $3.80, or 4.6 percent, to $79.21.

Chevron, hurt by low oil prices and a write-off of some of its assets, reported its lowest profit in 13 years. The company reported a profit of 30 cents a share, well below the $1.13 analysts expected. Chevron fell $4.55, or 4.9 percent, to $88.48.

Exxon and Chevron dragged down other energy stocks. The S&P 500 energy sector slumped 2.6 percent, its biggest drop since January.

Energy companies have been a major drag on corporate earnings in the second quarter. S&P 500 companies are on track for a 1.3 percent year-over-year decline in earnings, according to FactSet. If energy were excluded, corporate profits would be up 5.4 percent.