Dow, S&P 500 slip, but still set for this year’s best week

© Reuters. Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 20, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan

(Reuters) -The blue-chip Dow and the benchmark S&P 500 eased on Friday, but they remained on track for strong weekly gains as investors cheered the Federal Reserve’s rate-easing stance.

Both the indexes were set for their best weekly performance since mid-December, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was set to notch its best week since mid-January.

“It’s been a strong week with some good macro drivers in the form of central bank dovishness,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird.

“Just a lack of catalyst today allows the market to take a breather, but nothing concerning.”

All three main U.S. indexes hit fresh record closing highs in the previous session as chipmakers rallied and the Fed signaled it was still on track for three interest-rate cuts this year.

Traders now see a 71% chance of the first rate cut hitting in June, from 56% at the start of this week, according to the CME’s FedWatch Tool.

Investors will also be closely monitoring commentary from a host of central bankers expected later in the day for further cues on the central bank’s monetary policy trajectory.At 11:25 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 154.94 points, or 0.39%, at 39,626.43, the S&P 500 was down 4.96 points, or 0.09%, at 5,236.57, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 5.05 points, or 0.03%, at 16,406.89.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) slid 2.0% following a report that the EV maker has reduced car production at its plant in China.

Nevertheless, the EV maker and most rate-sensitive megacap growth and technology stocks were set for strong weekly gains.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed nearly 2.4% so far this week as chipmakers rallied on AI-led optimism.

Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading lower, with consumer discretionary down 0.8%.

Weighing on the Dow, Nike (NYSE:NKE) shed 7.8% after the world’s largest sportswear maker warned that its revenue in the first half of fiscal 2025 would shrink by a low-single-digit percentage, as it scales back on franchises to save costs.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) forecast annual revenue and profit below expectations as demand wanes for the apparel retailer’s premium athleisure, mainly in North America, sending its shares tumbling 18.0%.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) jumped 7.9% after the company beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit and operating margin in the parcel delivery firm’s largest unit, Express, rose 2.5% in the February fiscal quarter from 1.2% a year ago.

Digital World Acquisition fell 6.7% after shareholders of the blank-check firm voted to approve itsmerger with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s media and technology company.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.79-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.95-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 45 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 68 new highs and 60 new lows.