Friday's Dow Movers and Shakers

The thing about the budget cuts that are set to go into effect today is this: the markets knew they were coming. Unshaken, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 35 points, or 0.25%, closing at 14,089.

After outperforming all other stocks in the Dow in 2012, Bank of America has underperformed this year. One of only three stocks in the blue chip index that's down in 2013, B of A didn't have such a bad day today, rising 1%. It's not shocking that a stock considered nearly 80% more volatile than the broader market rose more than the rest of the market today. Longer-term though, budget cuts could hurt domestic growth -- and, therefore, banks -- by as much as 0.5% per year.

The U.S. isn't the only area of the world dealing with growth issues. Caterpillar lost 1.1%, after worries arose yesterday about the company's European business. Caterpillar's Belgian subsidiary had to permanently cut 1,400 jobs because of an abysmal demand environment in the entire continent.Not a good sign.

Apple just can't seem to catch a break; the stock set a new 52-week-low today, losing 2.5%, to close around $430 on Friday. Not only did an analyst lower expectations for the tech giant's earnings today, but a California judge cut the remuneration that the iPhone maker is entitled to from rival Samsung, by $450 million. The judge reduced the $1.05 billion ruling after claiming Samsung deserves a new trial.

Finally, some good news for shareholders: The innovative medical equipment company Intuitive Surgical added 8.5% on Friday. Fears began to quickly subside just a day after the company shed 11% of its market cap on news that the Food and Drug Administration was going to examine the company. Today's optimistic sentiment is the result of a flurry of analysts minimizing the potential financial impact such an investigation could do to the company.

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The article Friday's Dow Movers and Shakers originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor John Divine owns shares of Apple. You can follow him on Twitter @divinebizkid and on Motley Fool CAPS @TMFDivine.The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Bank of America, and Intuitive Surgical. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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