US stocks finish buoyant week on muted note
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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York City.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks finished a winning week on a subdued note on Friday, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edging lower despite solid earnings from large banks.
After ending higher for four straight days in the wake of cooling US inflation numbers, Friday’s mixed session “should be expected,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.
He considers the lacklustre session the result of “a little bit of profit taking after a very strong rally.”
The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 4,505.42, down 0.1 per cent for the day but up 2.4 per cent for the week.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.2 per cent to 14,113.70, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.3 per cent to 34,509.03.
Stocks won strong gains earlier in the week after consumer price data that raised hopes the Federal Reserve could soon end its policy of hiking interest rates.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase rose 0.6 per cent after the bank reported a 67 per cent jump in profits to US$14.5 billion (S$19 billion).
Wells Fargo also reported much higher profits, but finished down 0.3 per cent, while Citi shares dropped 4 per cent on lower profits.
UnitedHealth Group shares surged 7.2 per cent, lifting the Dow as it reported higher profits, on a 13.4 per cent jump in revenues to US$72.5 billion.
Meanwhile, entertainment-oriented stocks took a hit as a strike of actors – on the heels of an ongoing writers strike – effectively shut down Hollywood.
Disney lost 2 per cent, Netflix dropped 1.9 per cent, Warner Bros. Discovery fell 5.3 per cent and Paramount lost 5.1 per cent. AFP
