WALL STREET INCHES HIGHER AHEAD OF INFLATION REPORT
Major stock indexes on Wall Street closed little changed Thursday as traders looked ahead to a key report on inflation that could influence the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates.
The S&P 500 eked out a 0.1% gain. The benchmark index has been hovering near the all-time high it set last week.
The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3% and remains just below its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.1% higher.
Gains in retailers, communications services companies helped outweigh losses in consumer goods makers, financial stocks and elsewhere in the market. Amazon.com rose 2.2% and Meta Platforms added 1.3%.
Walgreens Boosts Alliance plunged 22.2% for the biggest drop in the S&P 500. It reported results that fell shy of forecasts and cut its outlook. The company said it could close hundreds more stores in the next three years.
Jeans maker Levi Strauss sank 15.4% after its latest quarterly revenue results fell short of analysts' expectations, along with its current earnings forecast for the year.
Spice maker Mccormick rose 4.3% for one of the biggest gains in the market after beating analysts' earnings forecasts.
Chipmaker Micron Technology fell 7.1% after its latest forecast left investors disappointed.
Treasury yields fell in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, fell to 4.28% from 4.33% late
Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury fell to 4.71% from 4.75%.
An update from the government said the American economy expanded at a 1.4% annual pace from January through March. The figure is a slight revision from a prior estimate of 1.3%. It marks the slowest quarterly growth since spring 2022.