Dow ekes out 10th straight gain as Nasdaq dips

NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks were mixed at the end of Friday’s session, concluding a week of earnings disappointments and successes, as markets look ahead to a Federal Reserve rate decision next week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a slight gain to finish at 35,227.69. The index has risen 10 sessions in a row for the first time since 2017.

The broad-based S&P 500 was also essentially flat at 4,536.34, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.2 per cent to 14,032.81.

With this week’s focus on earnings, the market’s response to results has been a “reflection of what’s been priced in” to individual stocks, said Mr Art Hogan of B. Riley Financial.

Both Tesla and Netflix were “priced for perfection” and stumbled after earnings that fell short, said Mr Hogan, pointing to Johnson & Johnson as a company that surged following results, in part due to a much lower valuation.

The calendar next week also includes a heavy schedule of earnings, as well as a Fed policy meeting.

While the Fed is widely expected to hike interest rates, Mr Hogan said the market could be “disrupted” if the US central bank is more hawkish than expected.

He noted that investors do not expect the Fed to raise rates again in September.

Among individual companies, American Express shares ended 3.9 per cent down after it reported higher profits but disclosed US$1.2 billion (S$1.6 billion) in provisions for credit losses – a sign that more consumers are struggling to pay off credit card bills.

Freight rail company CSX shed 3.7 per cent as it reported a 15 per cent drop in profits to US$1 billion, describing intermodal activity as “challenged”. AFP