Closing Market Summary: Mixed Ending to Largely Positive WeekWall Street had a mixed outing on Friday, with the underperformance of financial and technology shares balancing gains most elsewhere. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3%, closing at a new all-time high for the second day in a row. The S&P 500 finished slightly below its flat line, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.5%.
For the week, the S&P 500 and the Dow added 0.9% and 2.3%, respectively, while the Nasdaq lost 0.3%.
The top-weighted information technology sector lost 0.3% on Friday, capping an unimpressive week overall. Within the group, Micron (MU 44.74, -1.32) was among the worst performers, falling 2.9% after its above-consensus earnings report was overshadowed by disappointing guidance for the current quarter -- due in part to tariffs.
Meanwhile, the influential financial sector ended a positive week on a disappointing note. The group lost 0.4% on Friday, trimming its weekly gain to 2.3%, as Treasuries ticked higher, pushing yields slightly lower. The benchmark 10-yr yield, for instance, slipped one basis point to 3.07%, but remained near a four-month high.
On a positive note, the lightly-weighted telecom services group finished atop the sector standings with a gain of 1.0%. Within the group, AT&T (T 33.78, +0.34) advanced 1.0% after being upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at UBS. However, shares gave back some gains in the late afternoon following reports that President Trump is pressing the Department of Justice to breakup the wireless giant.
There was some volatility during the final stretch of Friday's session due to a major sector rebalancing, which will result in a new 'Communication Services' sector.
Several widely-held technology, telecom, and media stocks will be reclassified into this group, including Facebook (FB 162.93, -3.09, -1.9%), Alphabet (GOOG 1166.09, -20.78, -1.8%), Verizon (VZ 54.42, +0.47, +0.9%), Netflix (NFLX 361.19, -4.17, -1.1%), and Walt Disney (DIS 110.40, -1.22, -1.1%).
Also adding to the volatility, Friday was a quadruple witching day -- when futures and options on both indices and individual stocks expire.
In the crude oil market, WTI crude futures finished up 0.8% at $70.77/bbl, but were volatile after Reuters reported that OPEC and non-OPEC producers are discussing the possibility of raising output by 500,000 barrels a day to counter falling supply from Iran due to U.S. sanctions. OPEC and non-OPEC nations are scheduled to meet in Algeria on Sunday.
Investors did not receive any notable economic data on Friday, and Monday's economic calendar is also blank.
- Nasdaq Composite +15.7% YTD
- Russell 2000 +11.5% YTD
- S&P 500 +9.6% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +8.2% YTD