Wall Street edges higher as Nike surges

NEW YORK — Wall Street’s major stock indexes edged higher on Friday, as a surge in Nike, Inc. shares helped the quarter close out on an upswing while concerns over US international trade relations ebbed.

For the quarter, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all posted gains. The Dow edged up 0.70%, the S&P 500 rose 2.94%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 6.33%. The small-cap Russell 2000, whose components are more domestically focused than their large-cap counterparts, climbed 7.4%.

Like the Russell, the S&P’s major sectors reflected some skittishness over trade. Energy had the biggest%age gains for the quarter as oil prices jumped, and growth sectors such as technology and consumer discretionary stocks had solid gains. But real estate and utilities, considered defensive sectors, also advanced.

On Friday, shares of Nike soared 13% to hit an all-time high of $81 after the world’s largest footwear maker reported a return to growth in North America in the last quarter and gave an upbeat forecast for the year.

Nike shares ended the day up 11.1% to $ 79.68, their biggest oneday gain in nearly four years. Nike was the top boost to the Dow and the S& P 500.

Wells Fargo & Co. was a bright spot, rising 3.4%.

Friday’s session reflected momentary relief from trade concerns that rattled the market earlier in the week, several investors said, though the major indexes pared gains in the last hour of trading.

Investors took in stride US Commerce department data that showed consumer spending slowing as the core personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure of inflation, hit the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual target for the first time in six years. On several occasions this year, worries of rising inflation and a subsequent economic slowdown have sent stocks tumbling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.36 points or 0.23% to 24,271.41; the S&P 500 gained 2.06 points or 0.08% to 2,718.37; and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.62 points or 0.09% to 7,510.30.

For the week, however, all three indexes registered losses. The Dow lost 1.26%; the S&P 500 fell 1.33%; and the Nasdaq shed 2.37%. The Dow declined for three straight weeks for the first time in more than two years.

For the month of June, the Dow lost 0.59%; while the S&P 500 rose 0.49%; and the Nasdaq gained 0.92%.

On Friday, shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. jumped 15.2%, the most on the S&P 500, after rival Galapagos NV’s cystic fibrosis program reported disappointing trial data. —