U.S. stocks are heading toward the close of another winning week with some more modest gains on Friday.
U.S. stocks are heading toward the close of another winning week with some more modest gains on Friday.
The S&P 500 was 0.4% higher in early trading and on track for a third straight winning week following a mostly miserable April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 128 points, or 0.3%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.
The S&P 500 has returned within 0.4% of its record after coasting through relatively quiet trading following big gains at the end of last week. Revived hopes that the Federal Reserve may deliver cuts to interest rates this year drove the gains. So did a flood of stronger-than-expected reports on profits from big U.S. companies.
Gen Digital jumped 14.7% after joining the parade and reporting better profit for the first three months of 2024 than analysts expected. The cyber safety company, whose brands include Norton and LifeLock, also authorized a program to buy back up to $3 billion of its stock. It joins a lengthening list of companies announcing big such programs, which helps goose per-share earnings for investors.
