Stocks end week at a loss

NEW YORK - Stocks slipped Friday, pushing the market to a weekly loss as investors assessed the latest round of corporate earnings.

Shares of Express Scripts, the largest U.S. pharmacy-benefits manager, fell after reporting that fourth-quarter earnings were hurt by the loss of UnitedHealth, a large customer. Groupon plunged after the online-deals company said it expected to post a loss this quarter and issued a weak outlook for the year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose in early trading and had almost wiped out its loss for the year by late morning, climbing to within two points of its record close. But by late afternoon, the index had dipped, falling 3.53 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,836.25.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29.93 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,103.30. The Nasdaq composite dropped 4.13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,263.41.

The stock market has gained in February, boosted by decent corporate earnings for the fourth quarter and optimism that the economy will pull out of its winter slump as the weather improves.

Investors have been willing to overlook much of this month's weak economic data, but they appear reluctant to push the market back above recent highs before they see firmer evidence that the economy is sustaining its recovery.

Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners, a wealth-management firm, noted that investors were "giving the economic data points a bit of a free pass, but at the same time they're not fully convinced, either."

Said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners investment management: "I've felt all along that this is going to be a very volatile year. For me, you've got a lot more downside than upside."

On Friday, Express Scripts fell $3.11, or 4 percent, to $74.01, after it reported its fourth-quarter results. Groupon plunged $2.25, or 21.9 percent, to $8.03, after it said it was ramping up its marketing campaign and forecast that 2014 pretax earnings would be only slightly higher than last year.

Among Friday's winners, Intuit rose $3.39, or 4.6 percent, to $77.24, after the maker of Quicken, TurboTax, and other financial software raised its earnings forecast for its fiscal third quarter. Intuit said that it was off to a good start in tax season and that electronic filings using TurboTax were up 10 percent as of Feb. 14.