US close: Stocks finish week on a mixed note ahead of Fed meeting
Wall Street finished the week on a slightly mixed note as investors turned cautious ahead of key central bank policy meetings, including the US Federal Reserve, scheduled for the week ahead, amid tepid economic data and company results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session 7.13 points or 0.04% lower at 20,093.78, while the S&P 500 was down 0.09% or 1.99 points at 2,294.69, although the Nasdaq gained 0.10% or 5.61 points to 5,660.78.
The US economy grew 1.9% in the last quarter of 2016, missing estimates of 2.2%. That was a sharp slowdown from the 3.5% seen in the third quarter, but economists emphasised the data was not as poor as might appear at first glance.
For the full year, the economy grew 1.6%, compared to 2.6% in 2015, the weakest performance since 2011.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of prices, the personal consumption price index increased 2.2%, while the core PCE, which excludes food and energy, rose 1.3%.
Durable goods orders dipped 0.4% in December, analysts has expected a 2.5% increase, but orders excluding transportation rose 0.5%, in line with the consensus forecast.
Investors also appeared to greet the results of a meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and President Donald Trump which saw the latter reportedly reiterate his commitment to NATO.
Meanwhile, oil prices retreated, with West Texas Intermediate down by 57 cents to $53.17 a barrel.
From a sector standpoint, the best performance was seen in the following sectors: Airlines (-2.82%), Bussiness training (-2.71%) and Personal products (-2.69%).
In individual company news, Colgate-Palmolive tumbled 5.2% after the consumer goods firm missed fourth quarter profit forecasts, but earnings were in line with expectations.
Chevron fell 2.37% after missing quarterly earnings expectations, while American Airlines dropped 5.32% following news that its quarterly profit fell.
Google parent Alphabet was 1.1% under the cosh after its fourth-quarter earnings late on Thursday fell short of expectations.
Starbucks was 4.0% weaker after its same-store sales on Thursday also missed analysts’ expectations.
On the upside, software giant Microsoft gained 2.35% after its second-quarter results late on Thursday surpassed forecasts.
Honeywell International was up 0.38% despite news that the conglomerate’s revenue fell short of forecasts.
By the closing bell, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was unchanged at 2.48%.
Dow Jones - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $65.78 2.35%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $98.99 1.82%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $113.38 1.38%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $109.30 1.15%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $37.98 1.12%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.60 0.98%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $61.75 0.90%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $122.86 0.80%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $30.98 0.78%
Visa Inc. (V) $83.77 0.64%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $113.79 -2.37%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $65.66 -1.60%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $236.95 -1.10%
General Electric Co. (GE) $30.01 -1.02%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.45 -0.86%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $53.19 -0.86%
Boeing Co. (BA) $167.70 -0.84%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $177.30 -0.76%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $109.70 -0.60%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $77.70 -0.37%
S&P 500 - Risers
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $103.08 7.94%
C.R. Bard Inc. (BCR) $238.44 5.24%
Gen Dynamics Corp. (GD) $185.14 4.42%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $35.71 3.69%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $76.93 3.68%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $86.16 3.50%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $118.24 3.42%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $16.37 3.35%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $35.04 3.12%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $157.16 2.73%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Robert Half International Inc. (RHI) $46.30 -7.27%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $22.58 -5.40%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $46.95 -5.32%
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) $64.68 -5.22%
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $142.01 -4.57%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $77.58 -4.21%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $56.12 -4.00%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $43.47 -3.89%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $26.67 -3.79%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $9.42 -3.78%