Stock Market Today: Wall Street Holds On to Modest Gains, Marks Another Winning Week | Associated Press

NEW YORK (`) — Stocks held on to modest gains on Wall Street Friday, giving the market another record high and a successful week.

The lackluster day for stocks capped a mostly solid week of gains, with the technology sector once again driving the market higher. The sector has been the driving force behind a rally that began in October.

The S&P 500 index rose 1.77 points, or less than 0.1%, to 5,088.80. This is another record high for the benchmark index and the sixth winning week in the last seven weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62.42 points, or 0.2%, to 39,131.53. The Nasdaq slipped 44.80 points, or 0.3%, to 15,996.82.

Weakness in some technology companies weighed on the market, marking a reversal from Thursday. Apple fell 1%. Nvidia gained 0.4% after surpassing the $2 trillion valuation mark earlier in the day. On Thursday, the chipmaker rose sharply after reporting blockbuster demand for its semiconductors used in AI applications.

A decline in travel-related businesses also slowed gains elsewhere in the market. Booking.com fell 10.1%, dragging down other travel-related companies. The online travel service provider beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter revenue and profit targets but gave tepid guidance that spooked investors. Rival Expedia Group fell 2%.

“Investors are confident as policy uncertainty, high valuations and Fed uncertainty fail to slow market momentum,” said Mark Hackett, head of investment research at Nationwide.

Yield continued to be the focus. Ticket seller and concert promoter Live Nation rose 2% after beating analysts' revenue forecasts. Sleep Number, a bed and bedding supplier, rose 33% after the company beat Wall Street's sales forecasts.

On the losing side, Warner Bros. Discovery fell 9.9% after reporting a bigger loss than Wall Street expected.

Aside from profits, Intuitive Machines, the company that made the first U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years, posted a 15.8% increase.

Energy stocks were mostly lower as oil and natural gas prices fell. U.S. crude oil prices fell 2.7% and natural gas prices fell 7.4%.

Government bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.26% from 4.33% late Thursday.

Markets were higher, particularly in Europe and Asia. Markets in Tokyo were closed for a holiday, a day after hitting an all-time high.

Investors will need to check out more big gains next week to get a better sense of where the economy is headed. Home improvement retailer Lowe's and discount retailer Dollar Tree will release results. Computer manufacturer HP and electronics retailer Best Buy will also publish their results.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect companies in the S&P 500 to post fourth-quarter earnings growth of nearly 4%. Around 90% of the companies in the index have already reported. Analysts are forecasting profit growth of 3.6% for the current quarter.

Wall Street will also get more economic data that could further clarify how consumers are feeling and whether inflation is still cooling. The Conference Board will release its consumer confidence survey for February and the government will release another update on gross domestic product in the fourth quarter.

The big focus will be on inflation data from the government's January personal consumption and spending report. It is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicator and is expected to cool to 2.4%. It reached its peak in June 2022 at 7.1%.

The Fed has been trying to push inflation back toward its 2% target, and last week consumer and wholesale price data came in hotter than Wall Street expected. This led Wall Street to increase expectations that the central bank would begin cutting its key interest rate. Traders now expect the Fed to cut interest rates in June instead of March.

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