NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks finished mostly higher Friday to wrap up a subdued week, and technology companies did most of the heavy lifting. Investors were also pleased to see that shoppers spent more money in September.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.24 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,553.17. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 30.71 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,871.72. The Nasdaq composite gained 14.29 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at a record high of 6,605.80. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks slid 2.51 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,502.66.
Printer and personal computer maker Hewlett-Packard sent technology companies higher after releasing a strong profit forecast for next year. Intel and Facebook shares also rose. Companies in retail, travel and entertainment moved up after the Commerce Department's report on retail spending.
Sean Lynch, the co-head of global equity strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said unless third-quarter corporate earnings reports are surprisingly good, stocks won't rise much further.
"If we come in at expectations or slightly above, I think markets maintain these gains," he said. Lynch said earnings for Standard & Poor's 500 companies should rise 5 or 6 percent for the quarter. If that doesn't happen, he said the S&P 500 could decline 4 or 5 percent by the end of the year. That's not a huge loss, but stocks haven't fallen that much since early 2016.
The Commerce Department said retail sales grew 1.6 percent in September after a small decline in August. Much of the gain came from car and gasoline sales: Sales of cars jumped as people living in the Southeast and Gulf Coast replaced vehicles that were destroyed by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which also caused temporary spikes in gas prices. But other types of spending grew by a solid amount as well.
Hewlett-Packard forecast a larger annual profit than analysts expected, and also said it will return at least 50 percent of its free cash flow to shareholders by paying dividends or buying back stock. Hewlett-Packard stock gained $1.31, or 6.4 percent, to $21.71.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note declined to 2.27 percent from 2.32 percent.
Steel-makers climbed after Bloomberg News reported that China imported a record amount of iron ore in September and exported less steel. That sent prices higher. U.S. Steel climbed $1.80, or 7 percent, to $27.36, and AK Steel added 31 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $5.80.
Utility PG&E continued to tumble as investors wondered if the company will face penalties connected to the deadly California wildfires. Officials said this week that they are investigating the possibility that downed power lines or other faulty equipment touched off the devastating fires.
PG&E stock dropped 6.7 percent Thursday and fell another $6.78, or 10.5 percent, to $57.72 on Friday. Citi Investment Research analyst Praful Mehta said the company lost $2.2 billion in value Thursday alone, and even if PG&E were found responsible and grossly negligent for the fires, he says it probably wouldn't be fined much more than that.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 85 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $51.45 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 92 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $57.17 a barrel in London.
Business on 10/14/2017