Wall Street ends up in disarray before the holidays

by Stephen Culp

(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended in mixed order on Friday, on the eve of a long weekend of festivities, while prices in the United States fell in November for the first time in three and a half years, according to data published by the Department of Commerce.

The Dow Jones index lost 0.05%, or -18.38 points, to 37,385.97 points. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 7.88 points, or 0.17%, to 4,754.63 points. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 29.11 points (0.19%) to 14,992.973.

The Christmas rally in the stock markets is fueled by announcements from the Fed, which decided last week to keep its rates unchanged, while its president Jerome Powell suggested that the cost of credit should fall next year.

Friday’s publication of the PCE price indicator in the United States, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, reinforced this outlook since prices fell in November for the first time in more than three and a half years, allowing inflation to return below 3% at an annual rate.

The three indices experienced an eighth consecutive week in the green, with in particular the S&P-500 which recorded its best weekly performance since 2017, while the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones experienced their strongest weekly increase since 2019.

On the value side, Nike shares fell after the equipment manufacturer lowered its forecasts due to greater consumer caution.

Occidental Petroleum rose after Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in the oil company.

(Reporting by Zhifan Liu)