At 12:32pm ET (Friday) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9.32 points, or 0.04%, at 21,073.63, and the S&P 500 was down 0.22 point at 2,414.85. - AFP pic
NEW YORK: US stocks were little changed in early afternoon trading on Friday, taking a breather after six straight days of gains and ahead of a three-day holiday weekend.
Another strong day for consumer stocks was offset by weakness in healthcare and real estate stocks, leaving the market in danger of snapping its six-day winning streak, which is its longest since February.
The streak - one that included record high closes for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on Thursday - has put all three major indexes on track to post their strongest weekly gains since the end of April.
“We’ve reached new highs and we expect days of strong gains. Investors may be taking a breather as we head into the holiday weekend,” said Emily Roland, head of investment research at John Hancock Investments in Boston.
At 12:32pm ET (1632 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9.32 points, or 0.04%, at 21,073.63, and the S&P 500 was down 0.22 point at 2,414.85.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.83 points, or 0.03%, at 6,207.09.
Six of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led for the second session in a row by consumer stocks.
The consumer staples index rose 0.18% and the consumer discretionary index was up 0.16%.
Shares of Costco Wholesale rose 1.8% to US$177.99 and was among the biggest drivers of the S&P and Nasdaq, after the warehouse club operator reported a strong profit.
Ulta Beauty jumped 3.3%, the second most on the S&P, after the company raised its full-year forecast.
Deckers Outdoor Corp rose as much as 21% to a nine-month high after reporting a surprise quarterly profit.
mong the laggards, GameStop fell 6.7% to US$22.02 as the videogame retailer left its full-year earnings forecast unchanged despite beating profit estimates.
Earlier in the day, a report showed that the US economy grew at a 1.2% pace in the first quarter, slightly more than the 0.7% growth estimated earlier. The higher reading was in line with economists’ expectations.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,402 to 1,393. On the Nasdaq, 1,574 issues fell and 1,163 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed 51 new 52-week highs and eight new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 78 new highs and 44 new lows. - Reuters
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