The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are struggling for direction, as investors avoided big bets and assessed fresh data to gauge the health of the economy, while Boeing dipped after issuing a quarterly profit warning.
An S&P Global survey on Friday showed that business activity slowed to a ninth-month low in January amid rising price pressures, but firms reported higher hiring, supporting the Federal Reserve’s cautious approach to monetary policy this year.
Separately, the University of Michigan’s final estimate on consumer sentiment dropped to 71.1 from a previous estimate of 73.2.
The central bank is expected to meet next week and traders expect no change to borrowing costs. However, they now see the Fed delivering its first rate cut in June, according to data compiled by LSEG.
In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 101.48 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 44,459.53, the S&P 500 lost 3.62 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 6,115.09 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 17.56 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 20,034.29.
Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with utilities leading with a 0.7 per cent gain.
On the earnings front, American Express reported a 12 per cent jump
in fourth-quarter profit. Its shares, however, fell 2.7 per cent and weighed on the blue-chip Dow.
Boeing lost 0.5 per cent after the plane manufacturer warned of a fourth-quarter loss of about $US4 billion ($A6.3 billion). Shares of the company, which is scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday, had logged their biggest annual drop since the pandemic in 2024.
Verizon rose 0.8 per cent after the carrier reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter subscriber additions.
Tariffs are high on investors’ minds after President Donald Trump referred to the policies multiple times at separate events this week but did little to lay out entire details of the surcharges he plans to impose on trade partners of the United States.
The president has said tariffs on Mexico, Canada, China and the European Union could be announced on February 1, but analysts say major plans could be announced on April 1.
Investors have negatively reacted to reports about potential tariffs, on worries that they could spark a global trade war, add to inflation pressures and slow the Fed’s pace of interest rate cuts.
However, Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird, said “our view has been from the beginning that the concern about Trump inflation was overstated.”
“There could be a slight upward pull on inflation from certain tariffs and maybe from immigration policies leading to higher wages, but there’s also a downward pull from deregulation and more pro energy policies.”
The benchmark S&P 500 closed Thursday’s session at a record high for the second time in over a month after Trump called for taxes, oil prices and interest rates to be lowered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
On a weekly basis, Wall Street’s main indexes are set for their second straight week of advances, with the blue-chip Dow on track for its biggest weekly jump since October 2022.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.25-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.04-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 43 new highs and 37 new lows.
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