Stocks add slight gains to close at record highs
Stocks posted slight gains in lackluster trading Friday to close the week at record highs.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.17 points, or 0.3%, to close at a record 1,680.19. The Dow Jones industrial average eked out another record closing high by gaining a scant 3.38 points -- 0.02% -- to close at 15,464.30.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 21.78, or 0.6%, to 3,600.08.
The Federal Reserve's vow to continue supporting the U.S. economy with low interest rates has been a factor in recent market advances. On Thursday, the Dow rose 1.1% to 15,460.92, above its own all-time closing high of 15,409 set on May 28. The S&P 500 index jumped 1.4% to 1,675.02, a jump that put it above its all-time closing high of 1,669.16 set on May 21.
The Nasdaq composite rose 1.4% to 3,578.30, its highest level in nearly 13 years.
Earnings news Friday was mixed. Bank stocks rose as profits at Wells Fargo and JPMorgan came in better than expected. But UPS cut its profit outlook and said it's seeing a slowdown in U.S. industry. UPS shares were down 5%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.59% from 2.57% late Thursday. The price of crude oil rose $1.15 to $106.06 per barrel in the U.S. Gold gained 2 cents to $1,282.
In economic news, a University of Michigan measure of consumer sentiment came in lower than expected for the month and rising gas prices sent wholesale inflation higher in June.
Investors will get a lot more information next week, when key reports on inflation, unemployment and retail sales are due. That's also when earnings season begins in earnest. Reports are due from the remaining big banks, as well as General Electric, Intel, and Microsoft, Microsoft, among other bellwethers.
Boeing shares dropped after a fire was reported on a parked plane at Heathrow Airport. Boeing struggled earlier this year after its new 787 was grounded for months because of smoldering batteries, and investors are nervous about any indication that that problem might return. The stock dropped 4%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index added 0.2% to 14,506.25 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.7% to 21,277.28.
European shares were mixed. The UK's FTSE 100 index of leading 100 shares was broadly unchanged, up 0.02% at 6,544.94 . Germany's DAX rose 0.7% to 8,212.77. The CAC-40 in France, dropped 0.4% to 3,855.09.
Contributing: Associated Press