US Stocks Face Mixed Sentiment, Still Boosted By FOMC Minutes

Investors exhibit more interest in coming back into the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged on Friday, achieving gains despite the trading week that is shortened by holidays.

The Dow surged 152.97 points, or 0.45% to 34,347.03, marking the third consecutive session with gains. The S&P 500 fell 0.03% to end the day at 4,026.12. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.52% to 11,226.36, by the performance of Activision Blizzard’s shares, which fell 4% on news that the FTC could block Microsoft from taking over the gaming company.

All three indexes ended the week higher. The Dow is up 1.78%, and the S&P 500 is up 1.53% during the short week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is lagging the other two indexes but is still up 0.72% in the same timeframe.

Stocks encountered a trading day with mixed sentiment as traders are still digesting FOMC minutes. The minutes showed that the central bank anticipates slowing the pace of interest rate hikes going forward, which boost stocks into the end of the week even amid choppy sessions due to low trading volumes.