The US stock market edged closer to its all-time high on Friday, with Wall Street drifting toward the end of a relatively quiet week, AP reported. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% in early trade, leaving it just 0.2% below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 46 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4%. The Russell 2000 eased 0.2% after hitting a record on Thursday. Netflix fell 2.1% after announcing a $72-billion cash-and-stock deal to acquire Warner Bros. following its split from Discovery Global. Warner Bros. Discovery shares rose 2.6%.Retailers provided the day’s biggest boost. Ulta Beauty surged 11% after posting stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit, with CEO Kecia Steelman highlighting growth led by e-commerce despite financial pressures on consumers. Victoria’s Secret shares jumped 14.4% after the company reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and raised its full-year sales forecast.Hewlett Packard Enterprise slid 3.9% after revenue for the quarter came in lower than analysts’ estimates, though profit exceeded expectations.This week’s subdued trade follows bouts of volatility driven by concerns over heavy AI-linked flows and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path, AP noted. Markets broadly expect the Fed to cut rates next week — its third cut this year — in a bid to support a slowing job market.Lower rates typically lift asset prices but risk adding to still-elevated inflation, which remains above the Fed’s 2% target.Treasury yields were steady, with the 10-year holding at 4.11% and the two-year edging up to 3.54%.Global markets were largely positive. Germany’s DAX rose 0.9%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% after data showed household spending slid 3% in October — the sharpest fall since January 2024 — amid expectations of future rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
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