Dow closes at record high above 40,000

NEW YORK >>The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed today above 40,000 for the first time in history, a day after hitting that mark during trading.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 6.79 points, or 0.13%, to end at 5,303.89 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 12.35 points, or 0.07%, to 16,685.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 141.50 points, or 0.35%, to 40,010.88.

The benchmark S&P 500 edged higher after paring losses while the Nasdaq fell, but both scored a fourth straight week of gains. The Dow rose to end the fifth week of advances in a row.

All three main indexes touched record highs on Thursday, when the Dow hit the 40,000 milestone before closing in the red.

Overall, U.S. stocks ended mixed today as investors took a breather after a weeks-long rally underpinned by data that supported expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.

Strong corporate results and inflation and other economic data have bolstered investor hopes for Fed rate cuts this year.

“Today is a bit of a digestion day: we just broke out through record highs and now we’re on a fourth straight week of gains, and the market appears to take a breaker,” said Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer at Truist Advisory Services in Atlanta.

Traders see a 68% chance of the Fed’s first rate cut in September, the CME FedWatch Tool showed.

“For all the times that I’ve seen the market hit milestones and new highs, there’s almost always consolidation around it even though it seems it’s all psychological,” said Tom Plumb, chief executive and portfolio manager at Plumb Funds in Madison, Wisconsin.

“People have got mixed signals on inflation this week and the next big catalyst is next week when Nvidia reports. So it’s one of those days when you seem to be biding your time.”

Advanced Micro Devices gained after Microsoft said it plans to offer its cloud computing customers a platform of AMD artificial intelligence chips that will compete with components made by Nvidia.

Reddit rose following a partnership with OpenAI to bring its content to ChatGPT.

GameStop dropped after filing for a mixed-shelf offering and saying it expects first-quarter net sales to drop from a year ago.