By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch , Ryan Vlastelica
Latest reading of first-quarter GDP revised higher
U.S. stocks flipped between small gains and losses on Friday but
were on track for weekly gains, as investors struggled to find
fresh reasons to push shares to records after a six-session winning
streak ahead of a holiday weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded within a 42-point range
and was last up 2 points at 21,084. Walt Disney Co.(DIS) and
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS) led gainers, while Home Depot Inc.
(HD) was the largest decliner.
The S&P 500 index traded near break-even levels at 2,415,
with the real-estate sector the largest decliner and the materials
sector the biggest gainer. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 3 points
to 6,208.
For the week, the Dow is up 1.3%, the S&P 500 has gained
1.4%, and the Nasdaq has advanced 2%.
Both the S&P and the Nasdaq are coming off record closes;
Thursday marked the 19th such record of the year for the S&P,
surpassing the number of records set by the index in 2016.
Double-digit gains in large technology names have been among Wall
Street's biggest catalysts this year.
See also:This top-heavy rally is built on 5 big tech stocks, but
here's why that's not a worry
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-top-heavy-rally-is-built-on-5-big-tech-stocks-but-heres-why-thats-not-a-worry-2017-05-26)
Stock markets will be closed on Monday for the Memorial Day
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-do-markets-close-for-memorial-day-2017-05-24),
but will see a regular day of trading Friday.
"It has been another great week for U.S. markets, notching up
further highs, although the prospect of long weekend in the U.S.
might well prompt some hesitancy this afternoon," said Chris
Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, in a note.
Data: In the latest economic data, orders for durable goods fell
to a five-month low in April
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/orders-for-durable-goods-fall-to-5-month-low-2017-05-26),
though the decline was slightly narrower than had been expected.
Separately, the latest estimate on first-quarter gross domestic
product was revised higher
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-wasnt-as-bad-as-it-looked-in-first-quarter-gdp-shows-2017-05-26),
moving to 1.2% from 0.7%. The University of Michigan's read on
consumer sentiment
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-sentiment-edges-up-in-may-as-americans-remain-politically-polarized-2017-05-26)
came in at 97.1 in May.
"The data was a little better than expected, especially on the
consumer side, but this isn't anything to change the outlook," said
Eric Green, senior portfolio manager and director of research at
Penn Capital Management.
Green added that the market was presenting a mixed picture for
valuation, with some recent trading favorites--including consumer
staples and companies that pay a high dividend--looking expensive,
while others--including energy and industrials--looked cheap.
"Because the economy is still growing, these are still
attractive even if we don't get things like tax reform or
infrastructure spending" out of the Trump administration, he said.
"But if we do, they're even more attractive."
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard,
speaking in Tokyo on Friday, warned that the Fed and financial
markets are on different pages when it comes to the direction of
interest rates, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal
(https://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-bullard-says-markets-have-more-dovish-view-on-interest-rate-path-1495765216).
Markets have a more dovish view of the rate path, he said.
Read:Buoyant U.S. economy rides out rough political sea, but
more storms ahead
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/buoyant-us-economy-rides-out-rough-political-sea-but-more-storms-ahead-2017-05-21)
Moving stocks: Shares of Nutanix Inc.(NTNX) rose 11% after the
cloud-computing company posted better-than-expected financial
results late Thursday.
U.S.-listed shares of BlackBerry Ltd. (BB.T) rose 0.7% after the
company said the final award in its arbitration with Qualcomm Inc.
(QCOM) was $940 million--above the $815 million that had been
announced in an interim ruling in April. Shares of Qualcomm lost
0.1%.
Read:Nutanix spikes as bigger customers sign on to hybrid cloud
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nutanix-spikes-as-bigger-customers-sign-on-to-hybrid-cloud-2017-05-25)
Deckers Outdoor Corp.(DECK) surged 17% a day after the Ugg boots
maker posted a surprise quarterly profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deckers-outdoor-shares-surge-on-surprise-profit-outlook-2017-05-25).
Read:16 energy stocks that company executives love, regardless
of what OPEC does
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/16-energy-stocks-that-company-executives-love-regardless-of-what-opec-does-2017-05-25)
Other markets:European stocks
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-struggle-as-oil-auto-shares-pull-back-2017-05-26)
finished lower, though the FTSE 100 index
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-at-all-time-high-with-the-pound-knocked-below-129-2017-05-26)
rose to a record as the British pound fell below $1.29 after a poll
showed a further narrowing of the Conservative Party's lead before
the June general election.
Oil prices traded higher
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-rise-slightly-as-some-investors-buy-in-wake-of-opecrelated-plunge-2017-05-26)
but were lately up about 0.3% a day after crude tumbled nearly 5%
on disappointment that OPEC didn't take more aggressive measures to
cut production. Gold prices settled up
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-gets-a-lift-from-fresh-north-korea-jitters-2017-05-26)
0.9% at $1,268.10 an ounce, for a 1.2% weekly gain.
Read:Here's a lesson OPEC could learn from soybean farmers
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-a-lesson-opec-could-learn-from-soybean-farmers-2017-05-25)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 26, 2017 14:26 ET (18:26 GMT)
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