WALL Street stocks finished a winning week yesterday on a subdued note, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edging lower despite solid earnings from large banks.

After ending higher for four straight days in the wake of cooling US inflation numbers, yesterday’s mixed session “should be expected,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.

He considers the lacklustre session the result of “a little bit of profit taking after a very strong rally.”

The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 4,505.42, down 0.1% for the day but up 2.4% for the week.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.2% to 14,113.70, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.3% to 34,509.03.

Stocks won strong gains earlier in the week after consumer price data that raised hopes the Federal Reserve could soon end its policy of hiking interest rates.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase rose 0.6% after the bank reported a 67% jump in profits to $14.5 billion. 

Wells Fargo also reported much higher profits, but finished down 0.3%, while Citi shares dropped 4.0% on lower profits.

UnitedHealth Group shares surged 7.2%, lifting the Dow as it reported higher profits, on a 13.4% jump in revenues to $72.5 billion.

Meanwhile, entertainment-oriented stocks took a hit as a strike of actors—on the heels of an ongoing writers strike—effectively shut down Hollywood.

Disney lost 2.0%, Netflix dropped 1.9%, Warner Bros. Discovery fell 5.3% and Paramount lost 5.1%. – AFP, July 15, 2023.