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A trader wears a t-shirt with Reddit’s logo, at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 21, 2024.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stocks slipped on Friday, but the major averages headed for a winning week and the Dow Jones Industrial Average barreled toward its best week of the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 108 points, or 0.3%, and hovered close to the 40,000 level. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were little changed.
All three major averages are tracking for healthy gains this week, with the S&P 500 on pace for a 2.4% pop and the Nasdaq rising 2.6%. The Dow is the outperformer of the three, up 2.7% through Thursday’s close and on pace for its best week since December.
“It’s a digestion period after a really strong week,” said Truist Co-Chief Investment Officer Keith Lerner of Friday’s moves. “Our view is that the overall trend is still positive for the market, especially when you see this breakout of new highs, on track for your fifth consecutive month of gains.”
One reason for this market optimism stems from this week’s Federal Reserve meeting. The central bank left rates unchanged, with commentary from Fed Chair Jerome Powell reinforcing that cuts are coming despite the recent bout of hot inflation readings.
“That was enough for this market to move forward,” Lerner said.
FedEx rose more than 8% after posting adjusted earnings that beat analyst estimates, while Nike sank 8% on disappointing guidance and slowing China sales. Lululemon slid 18% on weak guidance and slowing growth in North America, and headed for its worst day since March 2020.
The major indexes closed at record levels on Thursday for a second day, and hit all-time intraday highs. Thursday was the fourth straight winning session for the three indexes.
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