Stock market today: World shares are mixed as 2024 trading winds down

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell in morning trading Friday as Wall Street closes out a holiday-shortened week.

The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, with more than 80% of stocks in the benchmark index losing ground. Still, the index is managing to hold onto a modest gain for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 402 points, or 0.9%, to 42,945 as of 10:41 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 2%. Both the Dow and the Nasdaq are also holding on to weekly gains.

Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market Friday. Semiconductor giant Nvidia slumped 3.2%. Its enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes. Other Big Tech stocks losing ground included Microsoft, with a 2.2% decline.

A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon fell 2.2% and Best Buy slipped 1.9%. The sector is being closely watched for clues on how it performed during the holiday shopping season.

Energy was the only sector within the S&P 500 rising. It gained 0.5% as crude oil prices rose 0.8%.

Investors don’t have much in the way of corporate or economic updates to review as the market moves closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998.

The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing.

A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader.

Markets in Europe gained ground.

Bond yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.59% from late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury slipped to 4.32% from 4.33% late Thursday.

Wall Street will have more economic updates to look forward to next week, including reports on pending home sales and home prices. There will also be reports on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity.