US stocks mixed as tech companies push Nasdaq to new record

NEW YORK – US stocks finished mixed on June 14, with both the Dow and the S&P slipping while the Nasdaq finished at a new record, as fresh data signalled 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 per cent at 38,589.16, and the S&P 500 fell less than 0.1 per cent to 5,431.60.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index saw a modest gain of just over 0.1 per cent, 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 per cent after beating second-quarter earnings and revenue expectations.

While tech firms did well on June 14, 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 per cent after a Bank of America analyst suggested cruise lines were losing some of their power to set prices.