U.S. stocks are drifting near their record heights. Momentum has slowed for the market, but a report coming about U.S. consumer sentiment could drive more movement
— U.S. stocks are drifting near their record heights on Friday, while oil prices sink.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, coming off just its second loss in the prior 10 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 138 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.
PepsiCo climbed 3.3% to extend its gain from Thursday after the snack and drinks giant reported a better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
That helped to offset a sharp loss for Levi Strauss, which dropped 10.1% even though it reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
Its forecast for profit over the full year was also within range of Wall Street’s estimates, but the jeans and clothing company could be facing the challenge of high expectations. Its stock price came into the day with a stellar surge of nearly 42% for the year so far.
The rest of the market is facing similar pressures.
Critics are calling the market too expensive after prices rose much faster than corporate profits, particularly for companies in the artificial-intelligence industry.
