4:12pm: Gap shares soar
The Dow closed Friday 2 points higher at 34,947, the Nasdaq Composite added 12 points to 14,125 and the S&P 500 gained 6 points to 4,514. The small-cap Russell 2000 index jumped 21 points, 1.2%, to 1,795.
Even with only modest gains, the major indexes clinched their third consecutive winning week in what has been a red-hot November thus far. For the month, the Doe is up 5.8%, the Nasdaq is up 10% and the S&P 500 has climbed 7.7%.
“I think the story for the rest this year isn’t are we going to finish with a bit of a rally, because it does appear likely that we’re going to finish with a bit of a rally,” said Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments.
Shares of Gap rocketed more than 30% higher after the retailer's quarterly sales and profits came in comfortably above Wall Street expectations.
12:05pm: Wall Street on track for third straight winning week
US stocks were lower in noon trading after Gap became the latest retailer to issue cautious guidance for the holiday quarter.
At midday, the Dow lost 25 points to 34,921, while the S&P 500 eased a single point at 4,508 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 13 points to 14,101.
"I think the story for the rest this year isn’t are we going to finish with a bit of a rally, because it does appear likely that we’re going to finish with a bit of a rally," Horizon Investments chief investment officer Scott Ladner said.
Notable movers included shares of Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS), which soared 29% after the clothing retailer posted third-quarter financial results that beat on both the top and bottom lines.
9:40am: US stocks post modest losses as trading starts
US stocks edged lower in early trading with little new news to provide direction.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 12.91 points at 34,932.56, the S&P 500 was down 2.30 points, 0.1%, at 4,505.94 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 27.95 points, 0.2%, at 14,085.72.
The rate of new home construction in the US increased in October, while single family home construction increased from a year ago despite higher mortgage rates.
Housing starts in October increased 1.9% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 1.37 million, the US commerce department said.
While single family housing starts only edged up 0.2% on a monthly basis, they are up 13.1% from a year ago.
Permits to build single family homes increased 0.5% from September and 13.9% from a year ago.
On a quieter day for company news, multinational pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly said it plans to build a $2.5 billion high-tech manufacturing site in Alzey, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The investment will further expand the company's global parenteral (injectable) product and device manufacturing network, it said.
Shares eased 0.2%.
Gap was a big mover with shares jumping 23% after the company posted better-than-expected results for the third quarter.
7:00am: Wall Street set for third straight week of gains
US markets are expected to make steady early progress as an upbeat week nears its conclusion.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%, while those for the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed.
All three averages are on pace for weekly gains, which would be the third straight positive week.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are up more than 2% after Thursday’s close, while the Dow is on pace for a 1.9% rise.
Those gains were sparked by soft US inflation data that gave hope to investors that the worst of inflation, and interest rates hikes, were behind.
Stocks on the move include Gap, up 17% after strong results, while Applied Materials fell 7%, as reports of a Justice Department investigation overshadowed overwise upbeat quarterly financial results.