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 The S&P 500 technology index <.SPLRCT> rose 0.6 percent, bolstered
by Apple Inc <AAPL.O>, up 1.2 percent at $91.98, in another session
this week where the Nasdaq outperformed the other two major indexes.
Both the Dow and the S&P 500 ended the week with slight losses,
while the Nasdaq scored a gain.
Trading volume, which has been low in recent weeks, surged to at
least 8.9 billion shares on U.S. exchanges, according to BATS Global
Markets. The spike in volume at Friday's close was the result of
Russell Investments' final reconstitution of its indexes, which
affected more than $5 trillion in assets. The average volume for the
month to date is about 5.6 billion.
DuPont shares lost 3.3 percent to $65.44 and ranked among the
biggest drags on both the Dow and the S&P 500. The losses came a day
after the company cut its operating profit forecast for the second
quarter and the full year, citing slower sales at its agriculture
and performance chemicals units.
It was the latest company to warn about the quarter. The ratio of
negative to positive outlooks is now at 4.2 to 1, above the
long-term average of 2.6 to 1, Thomson Reuters data showed.
The earnings period will start in about two weeks, giving investors
the next set of clues on whether the economy and profits are picking
up.
"Prices have finally achieved a certain valuation level that has
become increasingly uncomfortable for market participants in the
absence of further decisive evidence that the economy is on the
right track," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at
Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.
The forward price-to-earnings ratio on the S&P 500 is 15.9, the
highest since 2008, Thomson Reuters data showed.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 5.71 points or 0.03
percent, to end at 16,851.84. The S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 3.74 points
or 0.19 percent, to 1,960.96. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added
18.88 points or 0.43 percent, to 4,397.93.
For the week, the Dow slipped 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 declined
0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq gained 0.7 percent.
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Despite the market's recent malaise, Wall Street's 2014 rally was
expected to extend into the second half of the year.
A Reuters poll on Thursday showed the S&P 500 is expected to hit
2,000 before the end of 2014.
Among the day's positive signs, U.S. consumer sentiment rose more
than expected, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of
Michigan's final June reading, though that followed weak readings on
consumer spending and first-quarter economic activity earlier this
week.
Shares of Nike Inc <NKE.N> rose 1.1 percent to $77.68 a day after
the sports apparel and shoe company reported fourth-quarter earnings
that beat expectations.
KB Home <KBH.N> shares jumped 4.5 percent to $18.69 after the
homebuilder posted a better-than-expected second-quarter profit.
Shares of Keurig Green Mountain Inc <GMCR.O>, the K-cup coffee pod
maker, shot up 4 percent to $125.25 and bolstered the Nasdaq 100
<.NDX>. The stock was the S&P 500's biggest gainer after Argus
Research upgraded it to "buy" from "hold."
(Editing by Bernadette Baum, Nick Zieminski and Jan Paschal)
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