Stocks close mixed, post gains for the week
Stocks closed mixed Friday as the S&P 500 pulled back slightly from its previous day's record close but posted gains for the week.
The lackluster performance Friday broke the four-day winning streak of the major benchmarks that saw the S&P 500 hit its 28th record close of the year and the Dow move back above the 17,000 mark.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.97 points, or 0.2%, to close Friday at 1988.40, retreating from Thursday's record close high of 1992.37. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 38.27, or 0.2%, to 17,001.22. For the week, the Dow jumped 2% and the S&P rose 1.7%.
The Nasdaq composite index gained 6.45, or 0.2%, to 4538.55 and was up 1.6% for the week.
The pause Friday came as investors digested the latest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in a speech given at an economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Markets are looking for any clues on the timing of future interest rate hikes, but Yellen indicated that the Fed decision about when to raise interest rates is particularly challenging and will depend on the speed of the recovery.
The speech focused on the labor market, and Yellen said the unemployment rate likely overstates the health of the labor market, which may have been altered persistently by the Great Recession.
"I think the one take-away from Dr. Yellen's speech is that 'it's complicated.' She still doesn't see a clear sign of impending inflation and, therefore, the need for punitive rate hikes. That's dovish," says John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Group.
Overseas, European stocks were lower. Germany's DAX index fell 0.7% to 9339.17 and Britain's FTSE 100 dropped less than 0.1% to 6775.25.
Asian markets were also mixed as Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3% to 15,539.19 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.5% to 25,112.23.
Wall Street stocks closed higher Thursday. The S&P 500 gained 5.86 points, or 0.3%, to close at an all-time high of 1992.37. The Dow rose 60.36, or 0.4% to 17,039.49. The Nasdaq added 5.62, or 0.1%, to 4532.10.
Contributing: Paul Davidson, Adam Shell