MARKET SNAPSHOT: S&P 500, Nasdaq Book Narrow Records Ahead Of Memorial Day Weekend

Latest reading of first-quarter GDP raised

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite logged tiny gains on Friday, but they were enough for the benchmarks to finish in record territory and book a seventh straight advance, ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend.

Trading during the session was otherwise muted as traders left early for the holiday weekend, leaving fewer on staff to digest a mixed bag of Friday data. Total composite trade of 5.2 billion shares marked the lowest volume of 2017, according to Dow Jones data.

The S&P 500 index gained 0.75 points, or less than 0.1%, to finish at a fresh all-time high of 2014.82, buoyed by gains in consumer-staples, consumer-discretionary and materials stocks, all up about 0.3%, while real estate fell 0.7%, weighing on the broad-market gauge.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 4.94 points, or 0.1%, to notch a record at 6,210.19.

However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 2.67 points, or less than 0.1%, lower at 21,080.28, a tiny loss but enough to keep blue-chips out of the record-setting party, albeit just 0.2% away from its own all-time high. Shares of Walt Disney Co.(DIS) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS) led gainers, while Home Depot Inc. (HD) was the average's worst performer on the session.

For the week, the Dow gained 1.3%, the S&P 500 advanced 1.4%, and the Nasdaq booked a 2.1% gain.

Friday marked the 20th record of the year for the S&P 500, surpassing the number of records set by the index in 2016. Double-digit gains in large technology names have been among Wall Street's biggest catalysts this year. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, has rung up 35 record closes in 2017.

See also:This top-heavy rally is built on 5 big tech stocks, but here's why that's not a worry (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-top-heavy-rally-is-built-on-5-big-tech-stocks-but-heres-why-thats-not-a-worry-2017-05-26)

Stock markets will be closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-do-markets-close-for-memorial-day-2017-05-24).

"It has been another great week for U.S. markets, notching up further highs, although the prospect of a long weekend in the U.S. might well prompt some hesitancy," Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said in a note.

Data: In the latest economic data, orders for durable goods fell to a five-month low in April (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/orders-for-durable-goods-fall-to-5-month-low-2017-05-26), though the decline was slightly narrower than had been expected. Separately, the latest estimate on first-quarter gross domestic product was revised higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-wasnt-as-bad-as-it-looked-in-first-quarter-gdp-shows-2017-05-26), moving to 1.2% from 0.7%. The University of Michigan's read on consumer sentiment (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-sentiment-edges-up-in-may-as-americans-remain-politically-polarized-2017-05-26) came in at 97.1 in May.

"The data was a little better than expected, especially on the consumer side, but this isn't anything to change the outlook," said Eric Green, senior portfolio manager and director of research at Penn Capital Management.

Green added that the market was presenting a mixed picture for valuation, with some recent trading favorites--including consumer staples and companies that pay a high dividend--looking expensive, while others--including energy and industrials--looked cheap.

"Because the economy is still growing, these are still attractive even if we don't get things like tax reform or infrastructure spending" out of the Trump administration, he said. "But if we do, they're even more attractive."

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, speaking in Tokyo on Friday, warned that the Fed and financial markets are on different pages when it comes to the direction of interest rates, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/feds-bullard-says-markets-have-more-dovish-view-on-interest-rate-path-1495765216). Markets have a more dovish view of the rate path, he said.

Read:Buoyant U.S. economy rides out rough political sea, but more storms ahead (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/buoyant-us-economy-rides-out-rough-political-sea-but-more-storms-ahead-2017-05-21)

Moving stocks: Shares of Nutanix Inc.(NTNX) closed 11.5% higher after the cloud-computing company posted better-than-expected financial results late Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nutanix-spikes-as-bigger-customers-sign-on-to-hybrid-cloud-2017-05-25).

U.S.-listed shares of BlackBerry Ltd. (BB.T) closed 1% lower, even after the company said the final award in its arbitration with Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) was $940 million--higher than the $815 million that had been announced in an interim ruling in April. Shares of Qualcomm lost 0.1%.

Read:Nutanix spikes as bigger customers sign on to hybrid cloud (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nutanix-spikes-as-bigger-customers-sign-on-to-hybrid-cloud-2017-05-25)

Deckers Outdoor Corp.(DECK) surged 19% a day after the Ugg boots maker posted a surprise quarterly profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deckers-outdoor-shares-surge-on-surprise-profit-outlook-2017-05-25).

Read:16 energy stocks that company executives love, regardless of what OPEC does (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/16-energy-stocks-that-company-executives-love-regardless-of-what-opec-does-2017-05-25)

Other markets:European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-struggle-as-oil-auto-shares-pull-back-2017-05-26) finished lower, though the FTSE 100 index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-at-all-time-high-with-the-pound-knocked-below-129-2017-05-26) rose to a record as the British pound fell below $1.29 after a poll showed a further narrowing of the Conservative Party's lead before the June general election.

Oil prices settled higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-rise-slightly-as-some-investors-buy-in-wake-of-opecrelated-plunge-2017-05-26) but finished lower on the week as crude tumbled nearly 5% Thursday on disappointment that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers didn't take more aggressive measures to cut global crude production. Gold prices settled up (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-gets-a-lift-from-fresh-north-korea-jitters-2017-05-26) 0.9% at $1,268.10 an ounce, for a 1.2% weekly gain.

Read:Here's a lesson OPEC could learn from soybean farmers (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-a-lesson-opec-could-learn-from-soybean-farmers-2017-05-25)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 26, 2017 20:53 ET (00:53 GMT)