Wall Street's early gains faded into the close Friday, as upbeat comments from Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen failed to assuage investor worries about the global economy.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average each edged up 0.2%, while the Nasdaq added 0.1%. All three indexes were up as much as 0.9% in early trading. Volume was lower in the stock market today, sliding 13% on the Nasdaq and by 2% on the NYSE compared to Thursday, according to preliminary data.
Oil stocks were the best performers after Yellen said late Thursday that economic growth remains on track, and New York Fed chief William Dudley said early Friday that he favors only gradual interest-rate hikes.
However, a bigger-than-expected 0.5% drop in February wholesale inventories and a downward revision to January stockpiles sparked concerns that Q1 GDP growth may be weaker than expected.
Apparel stocks were among the day's worst performers, led by Gap (GPS), which dropped 14% in huge volume after the company released disappointing March sales figures and said it was entering April with higher inventories than planned.
GIII Apparel (GIII) fell more than 5%, and IBD 50 stock Michael Kors (KORS) lost nearly 5%, piercing its 50-day moving average.
On the plus side, Weibo (WB) -- sometimes dubbed the Twitter (TWTR) of China -- jumped 4% to a new high in heavy volume on talk that Alibaba Group (BABA) may increase its stake in the social media company. It's risen beyond the 5% buy zone from a 19.20 buy point of a cup-with-handle base.
Alcoa (AA) kicks off the Q1 earnings season on Monday, followed later in the week by building products retailer Fastenal (FAST), Bank of America (BAC), JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and others.
Economic data due next week include the producer and consumer price indexes, retail sales and industrial production, all for March.
