Stock market today: Wall Street hangs around its records after European stocks slump

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks held around their record levels on Friday as Wall Street remained relatively calm following another decline in Europe.

The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1%, marking the first time this week that it did not mark an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to its record set the previous day thanks to gains in technology stocks.

The losses were more pronounced on the other side of the Atlantic, where markets have been shaken by the results of recent elections in Europe. The victories of far-right parties have increased pressure on France's president in particular, with investors fearing that he could weaken the European Union, cripple tax plans and ultimately harm France's ability to pay its bills. debt. The recent elections have also shaken markets in Mexico, India and elsewhere.

France's CAC 40 fell 2.7% to take its weekly loss to 6.2%, the worst in more than two years. Germany's DAX lost 1.4%.

On Wall Street, RH fell 17.1% after reporting a loss for the latest quarter that was worse than financial analysts expected. The home furnishings seller called this “the most challenging real estate market in three decades.”

High mortgage rates have harmed the real estate market, since Federal Reserve has kept its main interest rate at the highest level in more than two decades. The central bank is intentionally slowing the economy through high rates in hopes of depriving inflation of its fuel.

Cruise operators were among the market's biggest losers after Bank of America analysts flagged a downward trend in travel prices. Norwegian Cruise Line fell 7.5%, the worst loss in the S&P 500, and Carnival fell 7.1%.

However, stocks have set records as hopes rise that inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year. Meanwhile, big tech stocks continue to advance almost regardless of what the economy and interest rates are doing.

Adobe jumped 14.5% after reporting higher earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Broadcom rose 3.3% for a second straight day of gains after reporting better-than-expected earnings and a 10-for-one stock split to make its price more affordable. NVIDIA gained 1.8% as the example of the race towards AI technology sees its total market value rise further above $3 trillion.

Nvidia was the strongest single force driving the S&P 500 higher, as has become almost routine recently. Adobe and Broadcom were close behind.

Overall, the S&P 500 fell 2.14 points to 5,431.60. The Dow Jones lost 57.94 to 38,589.16 and the Nasdaq composite added 21.32 to 17,688.88.

In the bond market, US Treasury yields fell after a preliminary report from the University of Michigan suggested sentiment among American consumers failed to improve this month, contrary to economists' expectations.

Strong spending by American households has been one of the main drivers keeping the economy out of a recession, but "assessments of personal finances fell, due to modestly growing concerns about high prices as well as the weakening incomes," according to Joanne Hsu, director of Consumer Surveys.

Perhaps most importantly for financial markets, expectations of coming inflation among American consumers do not appear to be changing much, even if they are relatively high. That's an encouraging sign that the economy could avoid a self-fulfilling cycle in which expectations of higher inflation drive behavior that generates more inflation.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.21% from 4.25% late Thursday. By the end of last month it had reached as high as 4.60%, ahead of a couple of encouraging data. reports in inflation.

In foreign stock markets, Asian indices were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.2% after the central bank remained stable in terms of interest rates.

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AP business writer Yuri Kageyama contributed.