After a modest retreat in the prior session, stocks exhibited a lack of clear direction during Friday's trading. The major indices oscillated near the unchanged line throughout the day, ultimately closing with mixed results.
Notably, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed the 40,000 milestone for the first time, climbing 134.21 points, or 0.3%, to settle at 40,003.59. The S&P 500 inched up 6.17 points, or 0.1%, to close at 5,303.27, while the tech-centric Nasdaq dropped 12.35 points, or 0.1%, ending at 16,685.97.
For the week, the Nasdaq surged 2.1%, the S&P 500 advanced 1.5%, and the Dow increased 1.2%.
The erratic trading patterns on Wall Street occurred as investors hesitated to make substantial moves, digesting the recent market strength that drove the indices to record highs. While recent economic data has sparked optimism about potential interest rate cuts in the forthcoming months, remarks from Federal Reserve officials have tempered some of this enthusiasm.
Today, amid a quieter economic calendar following a flurry of U.S. data earlier in the week, the Conference Board reported a continued decline in its leading U.S. economic indicators for April. The leading economic index fell 0.6% in April, following a 0.3% dip in March, exceeding economists' expectations of another 0.3% decrease.
In corporate news, shares of Reddit (RDDT) soared following the announcement of a partnership with OpenAI. Doximity (DOCS) also saw significant gains after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations. Conversely, GameStop (GME) shares plummeted after the video game retailer projected a decline in first-quarter sales and unveiled plans to sell up to 45 million Class A common shares.
Sector performance varied, with most sectors experiencing only minor movements, contributing to the broader market's tepid performance. However, gold stocks rallied sharply, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index climbing 3.7% to reach a two-year high, propelled by a significant rise in gold prices. Oil producers, brokerages, and networking stocks also posted strong performances, while semiconductor stocks experienced modest weakness.
Internationally, Asia-Pacific stock markets delivered mixed results on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index decreased by 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.9%, and China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.0%.
In Europe, the major indices ended the day lower. The French CAC 40 Index dropped 0.3%, the UK's FTSE 100 Index declined 0.2%, and Germany's DAX Index edged down 0.1%.
In the bond market, treasuries faced selling pressure, continuing the modest decline from the previous session. Consequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note increased by 4.3 basis points to 4.420%.
Looking ahead, next week's U.S. economic calendar is relatively light, but reports on durable goods orders and new and existing home sales, along with remarks from several Fed officials, may garner attention.
