Wall St subdued as markets pause after S&P record high; data, Mideast in focus

Wall Street’s main indexes were largely muted in choppy trading on Friday, a day after the S&P 500 closed at a record high, while investors assessed retail sales data and took stock of the latest developments in the Middle East.

Gains in Meta Platforms and Alphabet lifted the S&P 500 communication services index 0.5%, but mixed moves in chip stocks such as Broadcom and Nvidia left the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq swinging between gains and losses.

Applied Materials fell 4%, even after the chip equipment maker forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates.

Energy stocks on the S&P 500 rose 1.6%, while miners and industrials gained about 0.5% each.

“It’s good to see an expansion in the markets here with broadening out, not just hiding out in hyperscalers like Microsoft and Nvidia,” said Bob Lang, founder and chief strategist at Explosive Options.

Declines in Amgen and Johnson & Johnson weighed on the Dow.

At 10:05 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.14 points, or 0.04%, to 53,818.85, the S&P 500 gained 8.66 points, or 0.11%, to 7,807.65 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 17.78 points, or 0.07%, to 26,822.61.

Investors also parsed a weaker-than-expected retail sales reading for July, after an unrevised 0.2% gain in June, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said.

“If they (the Fed) raise rates at the next meeting, it’s not going to be a horrible thing … If they do not change policy, it means that they have confidence that inflation trends are moving in the right direction,” said Lang.

The figures follow benign inflation data earlier this week that eased some concerns about a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike in September, putting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on track for a third consecutive weekly gain, their longest winning streak since early April.

The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment survey came in at 51 in August, below expectations of 54.5, according to economists polled by Reuters.

Developments in the Middle East continued to weigh on investor sentiment after transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to have come to a near standstill after two more ships were attacked and the U.S. said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely.

Among other stocks, Workday slipped 4.4%. Reuters reported on Thursday that private equity firm Silver Lake was in talks to acquire the software firm.

Reddit surged nearly 15% after the social media companywas named a new addition to the S&P 500 index, effective August 18.

Shares of some drone makers gained after President Donald Trump said late on Thursday that he would impose tariffs on imports of drones and their components.

Red Cat jumped 7% and Unusual Machines added 14%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.02-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted nine new 52-week highs and one new low while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 49 new highs and 32 new lows.