Stocks show little change after a mixed day

Stocks ended more or less where they started Friday as a five-day rally ran out of steam.

The market was down most of the day after disappointing bank earnings weighed on financial company shares. Investors also sold retailer stocks and other consumer-focused stocks. But by the close, the Dow Jones industrial average managed to squeeze out a gain for another record high.

U.S. government bonds fell, sending their yields higher.

“The market is taking a breather,” said Anna Rathbun, research director at CBIZ Retirement Plan Services. “Investors are taking gains.”

The Dow edged up 10.14, or 0.05 percent, to 18,516.55.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 2.01, or 0.09 percent, to 2,161.74. Six of the 10 sectors in that index ended lower.

The Nasdaq composite fell 4.47, or 0.09 percent, to 5,029.59.

All three indexes ended the week up for the third week in a row.

Earnings season remained a focus for investors.

Earnings per share for the entire S&P 500 are expected to have dropped 5.3 percent last quarter compared to a year ago, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. That would be the fourth quarter in a row of falling profits, rare outside of a recession.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose a modest 1 percent in June from a year ago, suggesting that the Federal Reserve may take its time raising interest rates from the record lows that have helped push stocks higher. The Fed’s target for inflation is 2 percent.

The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose a robust 2.7 percent in June from a year earlier. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of economic output in the U.S., much higher than in many other developed countries.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Stocks show little change after a mixed day."