US stocks declined amid Fed tapering concern, Syria tensions

US stock indexes retreated sending Standard & Poors 500 to a 3.1% decline for the month of August amid analysts speculation of bond tapering happening as soon as mid-September. US intentions to strike Syria is another reason for the stock market to slump.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 4.4% to 14810.31 capped by a slide of 30.64 points Friday for its largest monthly pullback this year after vaulting to a record high at the start of the month. The S&P 500 Index declined 0.32% on Friday for the week and 3.1% in August, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 0.84% on Friday and 1% on the month.

President Barack Obama on Saturday said he has decided military action is appropriate, but he would still seek congressional authorization on the use of U.S. military force against Syria. Congressional leaders have agreed to debate and vote on the possible action when lawmakers return from recess on Sept. 9.

“I know well we are weary of war,” Obama said. “That’s why we’re not contemplating putting our troops in the middle of someone else’s war. But we are the United States of America, we can not and must not turn a blind eye to what happened in Damascus,” the president said in a statement delivered in the White House Rose Garden.

Putting Syria tensions on a side, payrolls data on Friday will be a major event in the coming week as it precedes the mid-September Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Over the past 10 years, the S&P 500 has averaged a 5% gain during September, but it’s also seen some wide swings from year to year. While the index may have climbed 8.8% in September 2010 and 2.2% last year, that’s folded in with losses of 7.2% and 9.1% in 2011 and 2008, respectively. High volatility is expected this month.

In corporate world, Apache Corp. shares jumped nearly 9%. The company, which explores for and produces oil and gas, agreed to sell a 33% stake in its Egypt business to China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. for $3.1 billion.

Shares of Salesforce.com soared 12.6%. The company, which makes business software, swung to a second-quarter profit of $76.6 million, or 12 cents a share, from a year-ago loss of $9.8 million, or 2 cents a share. The firm’s profit and its 31% surge in revenue both beat analyst expectations.

Western Digital Corp. shares rose 2.1%. They had declined earlier this week. The company this month revised its fiscal fourth-quarter results, saying it will record an accrual of $681 million related to a July appeals court decision in favor of rival Seagate Technology Inc. in a trade secrets case.