US stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising marginally to notch its 10th straight day of advances, its longest rally in almost six years.
The blue-chip index was lifted by gains of more than one per cent each in Procter & Gamble and Chevron. It is now up over six per cent in 2023, compared to the S&P 500’s 18 per cent rise.
“The Dow playing catch-up shows there is a rotation into other sectors, like healthcare and financials. The rally is not just tech-heavy anymore,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Nvidia and Meta Platforms lost more than two per cent each in a choppy trading session, while the S&P 500 utilities sector jumped 1.5 per cent, followed by a one per cent rise in the healthcare sector index.
Netflix dipped 2.3 per cent, down for a second straight day after the video streaming company’s quarterly results this week failed to impress.
Analysts attributed Friday’s volatile trading to the expiration of monthly options and the expected special rebalancing of the multi-trillion dollar Nasdaq 100 following the close of trading.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.03 per cent to end at 4,536.34 points.
The Nasdaq declined 0.22 per cent to 14,032.81 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.01 per cent to 35,227.69 points.
For the week, the S&P 500 added 0.7 per cent, the Nasdaq fell 0.6 per cent and the Dow rose 2.1 per cent.
The Nasdaq has rallied about 34 per cent this year, lifted by optimism over artificial intelligence, a relatively resilient US economy and expectations that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hike cycle will end soon.
While the Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its July 25-26 meeting, investors have mixed views on the central bank’s longer-term monetary policy.
American Express fell 3.9 per cent after the credit card giant missed quarterly revenue estimates and affirmed its full-year profit forecast.
SLB declined 2.2 per cent after the top oilfield services firm missed quarterly revenue expectations due to moderating drilling activity in North America.
Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.5-to-one ratio.
Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 10.4 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 10.6 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.