Saturday, April 29, 2017
Associated Press
U.S. stocks closed modestly lower Friday, ending just short of another milestone for Wall Street.
The Nasdaq composite index narrowly missed its fourth record-high close this week, though all the major indexes still notched weekly gains.
Phone companies, banks and materials stocks were among the big decliners. Technology stocks gained the most, while health care and energy also bucked the broader market slide. Crude oil prices rose.
Investors continued to focus on company earnings reports as they mine for insight into the health of corporate America.
So far, earnings have been mostly exceeding Wall Street’s expectations. But an unimpressive report on economic growth in the first quarter may have given some traders pause Friday.
“The market is worried that the second quarter perhaps will see continued weakness, and that’s part of the tug-of-war we’re seeing in the market,” said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. “Are we going to see the economy snapping out of this weak patch?”
Bond prices edged higher. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 2.28 percent from 2.30 percent late Thursday.
The market started the week off on a strong note, in part reflecting relief following the first round of France’s presidential election. Results suggest France may not try to break apart from the European Union.
On Friday, the major stock indexes were flat or down much of the day.