The major indexes ended all but flat in quiet trade Friday as investors stood down after a tough week of earnings news and politics.
The Nasdaq pulled off a 0.1% gain, while the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Small caps took a beating, leaving the Russell 2000 with a 0.5% loss. The S&P SmallCap 600 fell 0.8%. Preliminary data showed trading volume ended well below Thursday's levels.
A week that opened with the presidential election in France, then moved on to the presidential election in South Korea and the surprise firing of FBI Director James Comey, also moved the market past the zenith of the first-quarter reporting season. S&P Capital IQ reported Friday that 72% of the S&P 500 companies topped consensus estimates for the quarter, topping the historic beat rate of 66% for only the second time in the past six years.
The fiber-optics group posted Friday's best gain among industries, with Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) and Lumentum Holdings (LITE) jumping more than 2% and 3%, respectively. Applied Optoelectronics scored a new high, but passed no buy points. Lumentum is forming a base with a 56.02 buy point.
Enterprise software developers also scored well, hauled higher by Trade Desk's (TTD) 31% blowout performance following first-quarter results delivered after Thursday's close. The gap up left the stock extended above a 46.31 cup base buy point, and 197% above its September IPO price.
Casino and gold mining stocks also posted two of the day's best moves among industries. Much of the updraft came from small, thinly traded stocks, but Wynn Resorts (WYNN) rose 2.5% to lock up the top spot among S&P 500 stocks, boosted by a Barclays upgrade to overweight from equal weight and a price-target hike to 144.
On the Dow, Apple (AAPL) led with a 1.4% gain following a price target hike to 170 from Goldman Sachs. General Electric (GE) took the low spot, slipping 2.1% after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to sell from hold, and trimmed its price target to 24 from 28. The note cited valuation, and questioned the company's ability to continue funding its dividend and share buyback programs given its cash flow trend.
Friday was not the horrific day that Thursday was for retail stocks, but Nordstrom (JWN) nevertheless tanked 11%, despite a relatively strong first-quarter report, the worst performance on the S&P 500 index. JCPenney (JCP) collapsed 14% on its quarterly results, driving share prices below 5.
Oil drillers took a beating as the price of West Texas Intermediate oil ended flat on Friday after Baker Hughes (BHI) reported a 17-straight week of increased rig activity. Crude ended the week up 3% and just below $48 a barrel.
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