The Fearless Girl statue faces the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, July 20, 2021. Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street, Friday, Aug. 13 as gains for communications and health care companies are checked by weakness in energy and other sectors. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
Another wobbly day of trading on Wall Street gave way Friday to small gains and new highs for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The two indexes wavered for much of the day before eking out their fourth straight gains. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.2% and notched its second-straight weekly increase. The Dow and the Nasdaq edged up less than 0.1%.
Stocks in the S&P 500 were nearly evenly split between winners and losers. Gains in technology, health care and household goods companies outweighed losses by banks, energy stocks and other sectors. Small-company stocks fell more than the broader market.
An economic report showing a big drop in consumer confidence last month due to the spreading delta variant of the coronavirus didn't keep the market from managing more records.
“The reality is the market is holding up pretty well," said Rob Haworth, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. He noted that the consumer sentiment report is "something the market is looking through as temporary.”
The S&P 500 rose 7.17 points to 4,468. The Dow added 15.53 points to 35,515.38, and the Nasdaq picked up 6.64 points to 14,822.90.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 70.2 from its previous level of 81.2 in July. That was the largest drop in sentiment since April 2020, when the pandemic took its initial grip on the country.
The unexpectedly bad drop in the survey’s reading was almost entirely due to the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus, which has caused hospitals to fill up with unvaccinated patients across the U.S.
While the broader market indexes notched slight gains, concerns about the resurgent virus prompted some investors to shift money away from companies that could take a hit from people pulling back on spending for travel and other in-person services, said Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors.
American Airlines fell 2.9%, while Las Vegas Sands slid 2%. And the Russell 2000 index of small companies fell 20.96 points, or 0.9%, to 2,223.11, another sign traders were worried about future economic growth.
Technology companies made some of the broadest gains. Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices rose 3.8%, while eBay climbed 7.4% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500.
Healthcare companies also gained ground. Pfizer rose 2.6% and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals gained 2.8%. Moderna slipped 0.4% after U.S. regulators authorized a booster shot of their COVID-19 vaccines for people with weakened immune systems.
Disney rose 1.% after the company returned to a profit last quarter, helped by the reopening of its theme parks and more subscribers to its Disney+ service.
Bond yields fell, which weighed on banks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 1.29% from 1.34% late Thursday. JPMorgan Chase lost 1.1%.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
