Wall Street set for weekly loss US stocks saw muted losses in early activity on Friday as Wall Street headed for its second consecutive week of losses with poor results from computer maker Dell weighing on equities. The benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.1 per cent to 1,351.58 as stocks have closed in negative territory for three straight trading sessions. The benchmark has lost 2.1 per cent in the week so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.1 per cent to 12,528.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.3 per cent to 2,827.59. Dell shares lost 7.5 per cent to $8.89 after reporting a large contraction in its consumer business in its latest quarterly results. The company, which said it lost market share to Asian rivals, has suffered as consumers shift away from personal computers to smartphones and tablets. Tech sector stocks dropped by more than 0.5 per cent. Nike shares gained 1.3 per cent to $91.97 as the footwear and apparel company said it would sell shoe and bag brand Cole Haan to private equity firm Apax Partners for $570m. Apple shares were 1.5 per cent lower to $517.47 as the iPhone and iPad maker continued its downward trend this week. The company's shares are off more than a quarter since they reached an all-time high in September. "We seem to be in the midst of one of the most controversial periods in Apple's stock in the past 10 years with what appears to be a sudden wave of pessimism overtaking the largest and most owned stock in the world," said Ben Reitzes, analyst at Barclays. Analysts have spent much of the week trying to understand why Apple has performed so poorly of late. Mr Reitzes said one reason may be that the company missed earnings per share forecasts for the past two quarters, but added that may have been due to consumers anticipating new product releases. Another possible explanation, he said, was that investors may be repositioning their portfolios and cashing in on large gains from owning Apple ahead of expected increases in capital gains and dividend taxes next year. Shares in the company have risen 27.8 per cent so far this year. Hertz shares gained 3.1 per cent to $14.70 as the Federal Trade Commission approved its $2.3bn takeover bid for rival car rental company Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group . Shares in Dollar Thrifty rose 0.6 per cent to $87.48.