Energy, wireless stocks post gains
A listless day on Wall Street finished with U.S. stocks eking out small gains Friday, as strength in energy, phone and industrial companies offset losses elsewhere.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.62 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,502.22. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 9.64 points, or 0.04 percent, to 22,349.59. The average was held back by a loss in Apple, which slid $1.50, or 1 percent, to $151.89.
The Nasdaq composite added 4.23 points, or 0.07 percent, to 6,426.92.
Small-company stocks did better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 gained 6.60 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,450.78, a fraction of a point above its previous record high.
The Russell 2000 also notched the biggest weekly gain, 1.3 percent. The S&P 500 and Dow posted small gains, while the Nasdaq closed out the week with a modest loss.
The shares of some health insurers bounced back as support dwindled for the Senate Republicans’ latest effort to roll back the Affordable Care Act.
Real estate and utilities companies were among the biggest decliners. The sector notched daily gains earlier in the week.
“Geopolitical tensions coming out of North Korea caused a flight to quality, which kind of put the brakes on the momentum in financials,” said David Schiegoleit, managing director of investments at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management. “Today equity markets are simply moving sideways and probably digesting that.”
The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 2.25 percent from 2.28 percent late Thursday.
That weighed on bank shares, including Fifth Third Bancorp, which declined 23 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $27.31. Lower bond yields mean banks have to charge lower interest rates on long-term loans such as mortgages.
Energy stocks rose as crude oil prices finished higher. Hess rose 87 cents, or 2 percent, to $44.50.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11 cents, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $50.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 43 cents, or 0.8 percent, to close at $56.86 a barrel in London.
Real estate investment trusts and utilities were among the biggest decliners. Ventas fell $1.48, or 2.2 percent, to $66.04. Duke Energy slid 91 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $84.25.
Industrial stocks, including several airlines, were among the gainers. Alaska Air Group added $1.84, or 2.5 percent, to $74.75. American Airlines Group gained 77 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $47.06.
Traders welcomed news of a possible combination between two major wireless carriers.
Sprint climbed 6.1 percent after Reuters reported the company is close to signing a deal with rival T-Mobile. Shares in Sprint added 49 cents to $8.52. T-Mobile gained 67 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $64.06. Verizon also got a boost, rising 96 cents, or 2 percent, to $49.90.
Among the big movers Friday was Compass Minerals, which slumped 13.5 percent after the mining company cut its annual profit forecast after a partial ceiling cave-in at a rock salt mine in Ontario that will slow operations for six weeks. The stock lost $9.40 to $60.10.