US stocks on Friday made the tiniest of gains as media companies and sellers of beauty products and food ticked higher.
Major indexes added to their winning streak and record highs, as stocks spent the day flipping back and forth between small gains and losses.
Beauty products maker Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc rose after a strong first-quarter report and competitor and Coty Inc climbed as well.
Media companies including Comcast Corp and Walt Disney Co also advanced, while video game and drug companies slipped.
The market has been steady in recent months, and with investors looking forward to the Memorial Day holiday tomorrow, trading was light.
It was the seventh gain in a row for the S&P 500 and NASDAQ composite following their biggest loss this year.
“Investors have been conditioned over multiple years to buy the dip any time there’s a market pullback,” said Jason Draho, the head of US tactical asset allocation for UBS Wealth Management.
He said that is one reason stocks have been so steady lately.
The S&P 500 on Friday added 0.75 points to 2,415.82, an increase of 1.43 percent from a close of 2,381.73 on May 19.
The Dow Jones Industrial average on Friday dipped 2.67 points to 21,080.28, rising 1.32 percent from 20,804.84 a week earlier.
The NASDAQ Composite on Friday rose 4.94 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 6,210.19, an increase of 2.08 percent from a close of 6,083.70 on May 19.
The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks on Friday fell 1.14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,382.24, compared with a close of 1,367.33 a week earlier.
Some of the market’s biggest moves were based on company earnings, and many of those came from consumer-focused companies. a
Ulta gained US$9.36, or 3.1 percent, to US$302.40.
Costco Wholesale Corp rose US$3.13, or 1.8 percent, to US$177.86 after the warehouse club had a strong quarter as sales and member payments both increased.
Uggs maker Deckers Outdoor turned in earnings that were stronger than expected, and its stock gained US$10.64, or 18.8 percent, to US$67.21.
GameStop Corp’s first-quarter results were stronger than analysts expected, but sales of new software and wireless devices were disappointing. The stock gave up US$1.40, or 5.9 percent, to US$22.22.
Video game publishers also fell. Activision Blizzard Inc lost US$0.94, or 1.6 percent, to US$58.28 and Electronic Arts Inc slid US$1.70, or 1.5 percent, to US$112.13. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc shed US$1.46, or 1.9 percent, to US$77.07.
The VIX, an index that is called Wall Street’s “fear gauge” because it measures how much volatility investors expect, fell for the seventh day in a row. After a huge spike on May 17, the 27-year-old index is trading near all-time lows.
It sank to 9.81 on Friday, compared with 12.04 a week earlier. The only time it was lower was in late December 1993.
The US Department of Commerce said the US economy grew 1.2 percent in the first quarter, which was still weak, but better than it originally estimated.
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