S&P 500 bumps up to another record close, Dow slips

Major indexes were relatively flat Friday, but better-than-expected retail sales give hope for the holiday shopping season. Overall retail sales rose 0.3% in October.
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The New York Stock Exchange in New York City.(Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP)

Stocks closed mixed Friday as the S&P 500 managed to eke out a small gain that gave it its 41st record closing high of the year.

The Dow slipped slightly, retreating from its record high but posted a weekly gain for the fourth straight week.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 0.49, or less than 0.1%, to a record closing high of 2039.82.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.05 points, or 0.1%, to 17,634.74, pulling back slightly from Thursday’s record closing high of 17,652.79.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 8.40,or 0.2%, to 4688.54.

For the week, the Dow was up 0.4%, the S&P 500 gained 0.4% and the Nasdaq surged 1.2%

The lackluster trading came despite a report on October retail sales that came in better-than expected in a hopeful sign for the upcoming holiday season.

Retail sales rose 0.3% in October, rebounding from a a 0.3% drop in September, as falling gasoline prices helped boost discretionary cash for consumers. That beat estimates for a rise of 0.2%, according to Actions Economics.

Oil prices bumped up Friday after plunging Thursday. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.76, or 2.4%, to $75.97 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.97 to close at $74.21 on Thursday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.32% from 2.34% Thursday.

Virgin America (VA) soared in its public trading debut as shares of the airline backed by billionaire Richard Branson rose 30% to $30.00 a share.

Asian markets had a mixed Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.6% to 17,490.83, but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.3% to 24,087.38. China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.3% to 2478.82.

In Europe, the major indexes were higher: Britain’s FTSE was up 0.3% to 6654.37, Germany’s DAX added 0.1% to 9252.94 and France’s CAC gained 0.4% to 4202.46.

Stocks closed slightly higher Thursday as an earnings beat by Walmart (WMT) helped push the Dow up 40.59 to a new record closing high of 17,652.79. The S&P gained 1.08 to 2039.33.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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