Stocks fell Friday to cap a big rally for the week that came in the wake of the first major easing of interest rate policy by the Federal Reserve since the pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrials backed off 58.37 points to 41,966.82, from Thursday’s record highs.
The S&P 500 index skidded 19.15 points, also from record highs of Thursday, to 5,694.49.
The NASDAQ staggered 72.17 points to 17,941.81.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial average hit a record above 42,000 and the S&P 500 climbed above 5,700 for the first time.
The three major averages are on pace for weekly gains. The S&P 500 is up 1.2%, on pace for its fifth positive week over the last six weeks, and year-to-date gains over 19%. The Dow and the tech-heavy NASDAQ are up 1.4% each.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.
FedEx dented sentiment a bit on Friday after the shipping behemoth cut its earnings outlook. Shares dropped nearly 11% and competitor UPS shed more than 3% in sympathy.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury rallied, dropping yields back to Thursday’s 3.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were unchanged at $71.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $31.50 to $2,646.10 U.S. an ounce
