Wall Street ends little changed as Disney compensates for drop in sentiment

NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (Reuters) – US stocks held near the unchanged level on Friday and posted a second straight week of gains, as a rise in Walt Disney shares boosted the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500, but a sharp drop in consumer confidence kept investor optimism in check.

Walt Disney (DIS.N) recorded one of the largest increases in the Dow Jones and the benchmark S&P after its profits beat market expectations as its streaming services added more customers than expected and its parks themed Americans affected by the pandemic have returned to profitability. Read more

But a report from the University of Michigan shattered optimism after showing the university’s preliminary consumer confidence index fell to 70.2, its lowest level in a decade, suggesting that the Delta variant of the coronavirus had an impact on consumers. Read more

“It’s concerning, the consumer is obviously in an extremely strong position, but there’s this kind of COVID fatigue that is really starting to weigh on people’s sentiment,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Regardless of foreclosure or full reopening, the consumer is healthy enough to spend and sort of keep the economy afloat, different names and different sectors will benefit from it. “

The report lowered the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bill and in turn helped lift mega-cap growth names, such as Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), while the retail giant Amazon online retail (AMZN.O) slipped.

Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 13.22 points, or 0.04%, to 35,513.07, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 6.91 points, or 0.15% , at 4,467.74 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 6.02 points, or 0.04%, to 14,822.29.

U.S. stocks have managed to slowly reach new highs in recent sessions, as investor confidence in the economic recovery has been bolstered by a strong earnings season, the passage of a major infrastructure and infrastructure bill. data showing that inflation could increase at a slower rate than expected.

Following new data earlier this week that showed consumer price increases slowed in July, while producer prices posted their biggest annual increase in more than a decade, investors are now eagerly awaiting the central bankers meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this month for clues about the policy.

In recent days, several Fed officials have said it is almost time for the central bank to start withdrawing monetary support, including cutting back on its asset purchases. Read more

DoorDash Inc (DASH.N) rose, reversing earlier losses after the loss of the food delivery business widened more than expected in the second quarter. Read more

Airbnb Inc (ABNB.O) slipped after reporting a blow to its current quarter bookings by the Delta variant and a slowdown in vaccination in the United States.

Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Aurora Ellis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.