U.S. stock indexes capped a day of choppy trading with a mixed finish Thursday, though solid gains by technology companies helped lift the Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq composite to more record highs.
The S&P 500 rose 1.22 points to 3,853.07, even as more stocks in the index closed lower. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped in the final minutes of trading, shedding 12.37 points, or less than 0.1%, to 31,176.01. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 73.67 points, or 0.6%, to 13,530.91. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 19.20 points, or 0.9%, to 2,141.42.
Other reports on the economy Thursday were more encouraging, including better-than-expected data on the home-building industry and manufacturing in the Philadelphia region.More companies are also telling investors how badly their profits got hit during the last three months of 2020, when COVID-19 case counts and deaths were soaring. Wall Street came into this earnings reporting season with low expectations, forecasting a fourth straight quarter of profit declines.
Trump hasn't been jailed yet?