Stocks inched lower Friday, giving back some of the strong gains seen in the previous session, but remained on track for solid weekly advances.
The Dow Jones Industrials backed off 53.87 points to 41,971.32, from Thursday’s record highs.
The S&P 500 index skidded 16.82 points, also from record highs of Thursday, to 5,696.82.
The NASDAQ staggered 62.84 points to 17,951.14.
The three major averages are on pace for weekly gains. The S&P 500 is up 1.2%, while the Dow is toting a 1.4% jump on the week. The tech-heavy NASDAQ is outperforming with a 1.5% advance.
New unemployment data also seemed to boost investors’ sentiment. Initial jobless claims, which came in at 219,000 for the week of Sept. 14, were lower than expected and showed a decline from the prior week.
In corporate news, shipping behemoth FedEx declined more than 13% after the company slashed the top end of its full-year earnings outlook and trimmed its revenue guidance. Nike surged 7.5% after announcing that CEO John Donahoe will step down from his post on Oct. 13.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, lifting yields to 3.76% from Thursday’s 3.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite
directions.
Oil prices ducked 45 cents to $71.50 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices strengthened $23.10 to $2,637.70.
