X The stock market closed mixed Friday as the Dow Jones industrial average fell for the fourth day in a row.
The Dow, dragged by Home Depot's (HD) 2.7% tumble, closed a fraction lower. Home Depot rival Lowe's (LOW) also got hammered, dropping nearly 3% in big volume.
Among other Dow components, Caterpillar (CAT) had one of the most interesting moves as shares found support at the 50-day moving average. It's the second pullback since a breakout on April 25. The stock fell early after Deutsche Bank downgraded shares to hold from buy.
The Nasdaq fared better thanks in part to solar energy, fiber optics and a few other technology industry groups that climbed more than 2%. Semiconductor stocks also had a good day. The composite added 0.5%.
The S&P 500 edged up less than 0.2% in a third-straight day of negligible price changes. The small-cap Russell 2000 was up 0.8% at the close. Indexes closed near session highs as buying picked up in the final half-hour.
Volume fell, according to the first readings after the closing bell. The soft close on the S&P belied strong breadth in the NYSE, where winners topped losers by 2-to-1. On the Nasdaq, winners led by 9-to-5.
Mercury Systems (MRCY) broke out of a flat base, moving past a 41.59 buy point. Volume was slightly below average, but a good burst in trading for the week made the breakout convincing. The relative strength line is at a new high, which is another plus for the breakout. The maker of military sensors is a leader in the integrated systems industry group.
RH (RH), better known as Restoration Hardware, edged past a 60.21 buy point in flat volume. Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold. The stock is coming back from a deep decline that started a year and a half ago.
Retail industry groups crowded the bottom of Friday's performance table. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) was the latest retailer to plunge — off 12% to the lowest price in nearly eight years — after its quarterly results were disappointing. Costco (COST) also fell, losing 1.7%. The stock has been plummeting since last Friday, when Amazon.com (AMZN) announced it's buying Whole Foods Market (WFM).
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