(Reuters) - U. S. stocks were little changed in late morning trading on Friday, following six
straight days of gains, as investors took a breather ahead of a three-day holiday weekend.
A strong batch of earnings reports from retailers drove the S&P 500
and the Nasdaq Composite to a record close on Thursday, putting all three major indexes on track to post their strongest weekly gains since the end of April.
The six-day winning streak is the market’s longest since February
and investors may look to cash in on their gains ahead of the long weekend due to Monday’s Memorial Day holiday.
Emily Roland said that U. S. markets are generally flat this morning as we see a stronger
revision to the first-quarter GDP data and better-than-expected durable goods orders,
Earlier in the day, a report showed that the U. S. economy grew at a 1.2 percent pace
in the first quarter, slightly more than the 0.7 percent growth estimated earlier.
Consumer stocks had another strong day, with the consumer staples index rising 0.23 percent and topping the list of gainers.