FILE – Commuters exit the Wall Street subway station in New York’s Financial District on October 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
(AP) — Stocks swung in mixed trading on Wall Street Friday as companies continued to report mostly solid earnings.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% in Friday afternoon trading. The index is on track to record its first down week since early September.
As of 3:12 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 210 points, or 0.5%, at $42,163. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%, marking its seventh straight week of gains.
Both the S&P 500 and Dow are generally down from their record highs reached late last week. Markets are becoming more cautious due to concerns that stock prices are getting too high. Rising U.S. Treasury yields, which make stocks less attractive to investors, added to the pressure.
“There’s some fatigue after a very steady rally,” said Mark Hackett, head of investment research at Nationwide. “It’s natural that such a movement is followed by a period of sideways movement.”
Earnings have been a major focus for investors this week. The latest corporate earnings reports may give Wall Street a better sense of whether high stock prices are warranted.
Capital One Financial rose 6.2% after beating Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings expectations. Ugg footwear maker Deckers Outdoor rose 10.6% after raising its outlook for this year.
Strong earnings boosted profits at several other companies. Technology companies L3Harris Technologies rose 3.6% and Western Digital rose 5.7%.
More than one-third of S&P 500 index companies have reported their latest quarterly results. Most of the results exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Outside of profits, stocks rose 16.7% after troubled low-cost airline Spirit Airlines announced job cuts and the sale of aircraft.
Capri Holdings, which owns luxury brands Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors, has lost nearly half its value after a judge blocked an acquisition by Tapestry, maker of Coach handbags. Ta. Tapestry rose 13%.
The ruling comes six months after the FTC filed suit seeking to block Tapestry’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri.
McDonald’s fell another 2.8% due to a growing outbreak of deadly E. coli poisoning linked to its Quarter Pounder. The stock fell 7.4% for the week, heading for its worst weekly decline in more than four years.
Government bond yields generally rose. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to 4.24% from 4.21% late Thursday. This is significantly higher than the 4.08% level late last week. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 4.10% from 4.09% late Thursday.
Yields generally rose on reports that the U.S. economy remained stronger than expected. Wall Street is expected to release further updates on consumer confidence, employment and inflation next week.
The Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate to a 20-year high in an effort to bring inflation back to 2% without sending the economy into recession. The economy has so far managed to avoid severe damage from rampant inflation and high interest rates.
Economists expect an important report on personal consumption, known as the PCE, to be released late next week to show that inflation has fallen to 2%. The central bank began cutting interest rates in September, and economists expect another cut at its November meeting.
Russia’s central bank raised its key interest rate by 2 percentage points on Friday to a record high of 21%. The Russian government is trying to counter rising inflation caused by military spending after the invasion of Ukraine.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX rose 0.1% and France’s CAC40 fell 0.1%. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2%. Asian stocks were mixed.
CHARLESTON — United Bancshares Inc. reported third quarter 2024 earnings of $95.3 million ($0.70).
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks ended their latest winning week with another record set Friday. The S&P 500 rose…
