Dow trims losses as investors digest Flynn news, eye tax reform progress

U.S. stocks fell on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average regaining some ground in afternoon trade after falling nearly 300 points earlier in the day following an ABC news report that said Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn would testify that he was told by a member of the Trump transition team to make contact with the Russians.

When the news broke, U.S. stocks, which were modestly lower, saw a steep sell off, but they later regrouped as Senator Mitch McConnell reported that the Republicans have enough votes for the tax bill.

At market close, the Dow was down 40 points, or roughly 0.24% at 24,231 The S&P 500 lost 5.48 points, or 0.21% to 2,642.1 and the Nasdaq composite fell 26.39 points, or 0.38% to 6,847.59.

Back to Flynn, while investors may have immediately priced in the worst case scenario, in a statement following Flynn's guilty plea, Donald Trump's attorney Ty Cobb said, "nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn."

Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to a single count of making false statements to the FBI as part of a deal that includes his full cooperation with the Mueller investigation.