US stocks mixed as tech companies push Nasdaq to new record

US stocks finished mixed on Friday with both the Dow and the S&P slipping, while the Nasdaq finished at a new record, as fresh data signaled a small fall in consumer confidence.

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey came in below expectations at 65.6 in June, down from 69.1 a month earlier.

“The market is driven almost exclusively by technology,” CFRA chief investment strategist Sam Stovall told AFP.

“Even though we had five more sectors in positive territory, I can’t help but think it’s a jumbo jet that is flying on only one engine,” he added.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 0.2 percent at 38,589.16, and the S&P 500 fell less than 0.1 percent to 5,431.60.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index saw a modest gain of just over 0.1 percent, and finished the trading day up at 17,688.88 — a new record.

Among individual stocks, Adobe was the day’s biggest gainer, and saw its share price rise by 14.5 percent after beating second-quarter earnings and revenue expectations.

While tech firms did well on Friday, many other firms did not. The day’s biggest loser on Wall Street was Norwegian Cruise Line, which saw its share price tumble by almost 7.5 percent after a Bank of America analyst suggested cruise lines were losing some of their power to set prices.