U.S. stocks closed little changed to finish the strongest weekly advance since November, with gains in technology and consumer shares offsetting declines among commodity producers amid a drop in crude oil.
Equities battled back from an opening sell-off sparked by the slide in crude, erasing declines by late morning, though struggling to advance all day. Applied Materials’ 7.1 percent surge buoyed technology shares after it predicted sales this quarter that may beat analysts’ estimates. reversed losses, climbing 1.9 percent to help lead consumer shares higher. Boeing fell for the first time in five days, losing 2.1 percent.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost less than 0.1 percent to 1,917.78 at 4 p.m. in New York, slipping for a second day while still gaining 2.8 percent for the week. The Nasdaq Composite Index, rose 0.4 percent to 4,504.43, wiping out an early drop of as much as 0.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.44 points, or 0.13 percent, to 16,391.99. About 7.6 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 7 percent below the three-month average.
“We got overextended to the downside last week. We’ve had a pretty decent bounce off of those oversold levels, and now we’re at an overbought condition,” said Michael James, a Wedbush Securities managing director. “I’m not surprised to see a pullback (Thursday) and a continued pullback (Friday).”
Investors were able to mostly shrug off oil’s biggest drop in a week, with the impact not spreading deeply beyond energy and raw-materials shares, offering further evidence that once-tight market correlations were easing.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell for the first time in three days, down 3.7 percent and below $30 a barrel after U.S. crude stockpiles rose to the highest in more than eight decades.
“The oil situation is really just a supply issue,” said Cabot Wealth Management president Rob Lutts. “The demand for energy is still relatively robust globally. I think investors maybe start focusing on that and pulling away from the concept that low oil prices mean global trouble everywhere.”
