US close: Stocks end on mixed note, but Dow hits record high
Wall Street finished on a mixed note on Friday, weighed down by weakness in the technology space, although the Dow Industrials did manage to eke out a fresh record high.
By the end of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial had climbed 0.32% or 86.52 points to 26,743.50, while the S&P 500 was 0.04% lower at 2,929.67 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.51% or 41.28 points to 7,986.96.
Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx, said: "For the Dow Jones, it could only add 40 or so points after the bell. Still, that was enough for the index to cross 26700, a record high for an index that has climbed and climbed since the start of July despite the unpleasant – but, in the eyes of investors, not as bad as it potentially could be – diplomatic and economic relationship between the US and China."
Sentiment on Thursday was underpinned by some solid economic data, as jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index came in ahead of forecasts, while an index of leading economic indicators signalled that the US economy could grow by 3% in the second half of this year.
CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "The Dow Jones and S&P 500 hit all-time highs yesterday as fears surrounding the US-China trade standoff subsided. The tariffs that were announced by both sides during the week were deemed to be not as harsh as originally suspected.
"The US, in particular, showed restraint, but that was partially so the Trump administration would have more ammunition should they feel it is required down the line. Now that the latest series of tariffs are out of the way, investors fell back into their bullish routine."
In corporate news, Micron Technology was down 2.87% after its quarterly results late on Thursday were solid but the company's outlook was weaker-than-expected.
Elsewhere, Wells Fargo was down by 1.01% after announcing late on Thursday that it could cut jobs as part of its "ongoing transformation".
Adobe Systems retreated 2.05% following the bell as it announced an agreement to buy software maker Marketo for $4.8bn, while Medtronic edged higher by 0.38% after agreeing to buy Mazor Robotics for $1.64bn.
Shares in Comcast and Walt Disney were little changed ahead of an auction for London-listed broadcaster Sky, the outcome of which was expected to be announced on Saturday.
On the data front, IHS Markit's Manufacturing PMI improved to 55.6 in September, the highest reading for the index since May and ahead of consensus estimates for a reading of 55.
"The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Flash US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index pointed to a robust improvement in business conditions across the manufacturing sector during September," the survey compiler said on Friday.
In the services sector, the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Flash US Services PMI Business Activity Index dropped to 52.9 in September, from 54.8 in August, signalling the weakest expansion of service sector output since March 2017.
The Composite Purchasing Managers' index also fell to 53.4 in September - a 17- month low.
Dow Jones - Risers
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $164.24 3.16%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $85.72 2.05%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $44.06 1.85%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.56 1.74%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $142.86 1.72%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $54.42 1.72%
Visa Inc. (V) $149.93 1.70%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $71.10 1.60%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $151.26 1.48%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $134.44 1.46%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.66 -1.14%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $217.66 -1.08%
American Express Co. (AXP) $110.90 -0.19%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $235.41 -0.07%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $73.00 0.15%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $117.85 0.20%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $156.39 0.24%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $211.87 0.34%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $266.73 0.51%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $114.26 0.61%
S&P 500 - Risers
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $20.57 9.65%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $13.53 9.55%
Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $14.61 8.63%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $19.34 8.23%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.75 4.36%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $43.60 4.08%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $35.91 3.79%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $80.63 3.72%
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) $23.19 3.71%
Kroger Co. (KR) $29.95 3.70%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $60.33 -5.94%
General Electric Co. (GE) $12.17 -5.37%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $75.88 -4.58%
Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) $112.93 -4.22%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $40.72 -3.16%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $43.15 -2.92%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $44.74 -2.87%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $467.25 -2.68%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $50.11 -2.49%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $29.13 -2.41%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $43.60 4.08%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $57.45 1.81%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.56 1.74%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $81.44 1.65%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $110.05 1.44%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $115.02 1.37%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $248.10 1.29%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $73.99 1.29%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $345.41 1.22%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $150.68 1.21%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $44.74 -2.87%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $97.84 -2.55%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $66.59 -2.48%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $138.63 -2.14%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $121.99 -2.10%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $260.88 -2.05%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $162.93 -1.86%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $1,166.09 -1.75%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $26.49 -1.63%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $1,172.12 -1.63%