NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2021) Blue chip and industrial stocks on Wall Street ended the week just slightly higher despite a streak of record highs as worries related to the US economy and the increase of coronavirus cases dampened the enthusiasm of some investors.
The S&P 500, which groups the top 500 stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at its fourth record high of the week, hitting 4,468 for a gain of 7 points or 0.2 percent. For the week, the blue chip indicator was up just 0.7 percent despite its streak of all-time highs.
"Stock markets are making modest gains once more on Friday, in what is likely to be rather uneventful trade as we make our way into the weekend," Craig Erlam, analyst at New York's OANDA, said on Friday. "This has been a common feature of the markets recently, small and steady gains. The next couple of weeks could be all about Delta."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broadest US equity barometer on the NYSE that lists mostly industrial stocks, made a historic peak as well for a fourth time at 35,611. It finished the session at 35,515 for a gain of 16 points or just 0.04 percent. For the week, the Dow rose 0.9 percent.
Big Tech stocks once again lagged blue chips and industrials, as they had since the start of the week as investors continued to exhibit caution toward what has been cited as overvalued companies.
The Nasdaq Composite, which includes tech giants such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, closed up 7 points, or also 0.04 percent, at 14,823. For the week, the Nasdaq fell 0.1 percent.
Earlier on Friday, the University of Michigan said its closely-followed US Consumer Sentiment Index plunged to a decade low in August on concerns about another economic slowdown due to the coronavirus.
