S&P 500 little changed as Wall Street wraps up big week of gains

The S&P 500 was little changed on Friday after reaching a fresh record high earlier in the day as Wall Street concludes a week that saw strong gains in equities.

The broad index was down less than 0.1% after hitting a high of 2,964.03. The S&P 500 posted a record close in the previous session. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, slipped 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 29 points higher and briefly rose above its record closing high of 26,828.

The major stock indexes jumped to their session highs after Dow Jones reported that Vice President Mike Pence would postpone a China policy address amid “positive signs” on trade. But stocks pared most of those gains after the Commerce Department barred five additional Chinese companies from buying U.S. components without approval.

Chip stocks fell on the department’s decision. Micron Technology shares traded 2.7% lower while Advanced Micro Devices lost 2.2%. Xilinx shares also dropped more than 2%.

Despite Friday’s choppy trading action, stocks were headed for sharp weekly gains as investors cheered the prospects of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates as soon as July. The Dow and S&P 500 were both up more than 2% for the week, while the Nasdaq rose 3.4%.

The Fed said earlier this week it is ready to keep the current economic expansion going as trade tensions and weaker data dampen the U.S. economic outlook. The central bank also dropped the word “patient” from its monetary policy statement, which was released Wednesday.

This led investors to price in a 100% probability of a rate cut next month and bolstered equity prices this week.

CNBC

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