NEW YORK, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday, while the benchmark S&P 500 index surpassed the 5,000 level at close, buoyed by robust earnings reports and positive economic updates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54.64 points, or 0.14 percent, to 38,671.69. The S&P 500 added 28.70 points, or 0.57 percent, to 5,026.61 for the first time ever. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 196.95 points, or 1.25 percent, to 15,990.66, closing shy of marking its first record in over two years.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with technology and consumer discretionary leading the gainers by going up 1.50 percent and 0.99 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and consumer staples led the laggards by dropping 1.56 percent and 0.85 percent, respectively.
Sentiment was positively influenced by a downward revision in December's consumer price index (CPI). The government revised the figure to reflect a 0.2 percent increase, down from the initially reported 0.3 percent rise. Core inflation figures, which exclude food and energy, remained unchanged, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The U.S. Treasury yields experienced a brief decline following the release of the revised data. January's CPI figures are scheduled for release next week.
"At the end of the day, we're still seeing whopping good news on an economic front, and the market is reacting to that," said Dana D'Auria, co-chief investment officer at Envestnet. "The longer that story plays out, the more likely it seems to the market that we actually are sticking a landing here."
As of Friday, approximately 67 percent of companies listed in the S&P 500 have unveiled their fourth-quarter earnings reports, following a busy couple of weeks filled with corporate disclosures.
Large-cap technology stocks experienced gains on Friday, aiding the S&P's climb beyond the 5,000 mark. Nvidia and Alphabet saw increases of over 2 percent each. Cloudflare surged by an impressive 19.50 percent due to robust earnings, consequently lifting the broader cloud sector as well.
On Friday afternoon, Microsoft surpassed Apple's record-high market capitalization of 3.09 trillion dollars, established last July, and becoming the world's largest company by market capitalization. ■