NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks showed little movement Friday as media companies and sellers of beauty products and food ticked higher. Major indexes added to their winning streak and record highs.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.75 point to 2,415.82. The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 2.67 points to 21,080.28. The Nasdaq composite rose 4.94 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,210.19. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks fell 1.14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,382.24.
Stocks spent the day flipping back and forth between small gains and losses. Beauty products maker Ulta rose after a strong first-quarter report, and competitor and Coty climbed as well. Media companies including Comcast and Disney also advanced while video-game and drug companies slipped. The market has been steady in recent months, and with investors looking forward to the Memorial Day holiday Monday, trading was light.
It was the seventh gain in a row for the Standard & Poor's 500 index and Nasdaq composite after their biggest loss this year.
"Investors have been conditioned over multiple years to buy the dip any time there's a market pullback," said Jason Draho, the head of American tactical asset allocation for UBS Wealth Management. He said that's one reason stocks have been so steady lately.
Some of the market's biggest moves were based on company earnings, and many of those came from consumer-focused companies. Ulta Beauty gained $9.36, or 3.2 percent, to $302.40. Costco Wholesale rose $3.13, or 1.8 percent, to $177.86 after the warehouse club had a strong quarter as sales and member payments both increased.
Uggs maker Deckers Outdoor turned in earnings that were stronger than expected, and its stock gained $10.64, or 18.8 percent, to $67.21.
GameStop's first-quarter results were stronger than analysts expected, but sales of new software and wireless devices were disappointing. The stock gave up $1.40, or 5.9 percent, to $22.22. Video-game publishers also fell. Activision Blizzard lost 94 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $58.28, and Electronic Arts slid $1.70, or 1.5 percent, to $112.13. Take-Two Interactive Software shed $1.46, or 1.9 percent, to $77.07.
The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew 1.2 percent in the first quarter, which was still weak but better than it originally estimated. Draho, of UBS Wealth Management, said that when the economy is steady, the market usually is, too.
The U.S. economy and stock market have both been moving up for eight years. Draho said that as a bull market gets older, stocks don't move in the same direction as often. When one stock or one sector rises and another falls, that makes the overall market flatter and less volatile.
Crude-oil prices bounced back from a sharp drop the day before. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 90 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $49.80 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, added 69 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $52.15 a barrel in London.
Business on 05/27/2017