US stocks move higher but are still headed for a weekly loss
Stocks were higher in afternoon trading Friday, though the gains were not enough to erase the market’s losses from earlier in the week
SINGAPORE — Stocks were broadly higher on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday, though the gains were not enough to erase the market’s losses from earlier in the week.
The S&P 500 index was up 0.8% as of 1:16 p.m. Eastern, but on pace for its first weekly loss in three weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.7% higher, while the Nasdaq composite rose 1.1%. Both indexes were also headed for weekly drops.
Technology companies led broad gains for benchmark S&P 500. Microsoft rose 2.5% and chipmaker Nvidia was up 3.6%. Communications, health care and financial stocks also accounted for a big share of the gains. Energy stocks were higher, despite another pullback in energy prices.
Investors have paused this week as coronavirus infections have escalated across the U.S. and around the globe. Earnings season is also winding down, with mostly retailers reporting their results.
Ross Stores fell 3.4%, the biggest decline among S&P 500 companies, after issuing a full-year forecast that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Foot Locker jumped 8.5% after blowing past analysts’ forecasts for its latest quarter.
The other potential issue keeping stocks held back is inflation. Earlier this week, minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting showed that officials had discussed reducing the Fed’s bond-buying program later this year to start winding down some of the emergency measures that were implemented during the pandemic. But they stopped short of setting a firm timeline.
The Fed’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming next week could offer hints on when such tapering may begin.
The S&P 500 is down 0.6% for the week. Even so, the index remains within 0.1% of its all-time high set on Monday.
Fund managers aren’t expecting much volatility this month as investors will have little data to work with. August also tends to be a popular month for investors to take their vacations, so trading volume typically declines. September tends to be a much more volatile month once Wall Street is back to work.
Bond trading was quiet. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.25% from 1.24% late Thursday.
