Major stock indexes backed off the 2023 highs they hit on Thursday but ended the week higher, lifted by the Federal Reserve’s decision to pause its interest-rate increases as well as data showing U.S. consumer confidence and spending is picking up.
The S&P 500 notched its fifth consecutive weekly gain, the longest such streak since autumn 2021, before the Fed began raising borrowing costs to cool inflation. The tech-loaded Nasdaq Composite had its eighth consecutive weekly gain, which hasn’t happened since early 2019, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
On Friday, the S&P 500 shed 0.4%. A decline in tech stocks outweighed gains in utilities, materials and consumer staples. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, or about 109 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.7%.
Read the full story on The Wall Street Journal here.