Investing.com – U.S. stocks made a subdued end to the first half of the year, as a trio of mostly upbeat economic updates suggesting that the economy would continue to strengthen failed to inspire a broad based rally.
Investors mulled over several economic updates, showing a slowdown in inflation which was mostly offset by U.S. manufacturing and consumer sentiment data that topped expectations.
Core PCE, a key measure of inflation the Federal Reserve considers in its interest rate decisions, dipped to 1.4% year-over-year in May, from 1.5% in the previous month.
It was the third month in a row that inflation has dipped, leaving it well below the Fed’s target of around 2%.
Meanwhile, manufacturing activity showed no signs of a slowdown, after The Chicago Purchasing Management Index, climbed to 65.7, its highest since May 2014, from 59.4 in May.
Analysts had forecast a figure of 58.0 for June.
The upbeat manufacturing report came ahead of a report showing U.S. consumer sentiment fell less than expected to 95.1 in June, from 97.1 in May.
In corporate news, shares of Nike closed nearly 11% higher, after the sportswear giant posted earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations on Thursday after the close of the U.S. session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,350.72. The S&P 500 closed 0.04% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6140.42, down 0.06%.
The ‘Bulls and Bears’ on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) up 1.5%, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) up 0.5% and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), up 0.8%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) down 1.1%, Visa Inc (NYSE:V) down 0.7% and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) down 0.4%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.