Stocks end strong week on sour note
Most stocks traded lower Friday, as investors analyzed a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and monitoring the situation in Ukraine, where a Russian convoy entered Ukraine without permission. Trading was unusually quiet with many investors on vacation.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 38 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 17,001 Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell four points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,988. The Nasdaq composite index rose six points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,538.
Most of the week stocks traded higher and the S&P 500 hit a new record high. Corporate deal-making, better economic data and calmer geopolitical events encouraged investors to buy stocks.
By Friday, investors have turned their eyes West to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Yellen headlined an annual conference of central bankers and other policymakers from around the globe. Her speech on labor markets left investors unsure how the nation's most important financial voice feels about raising interest rates in the coming months.
International markets turned lower earlier in the day after a Russian convoy of aid entered Ukraine, defying the government there. The trucks are meant to bring supplies to residents in rebel-held zones where separatists are fighting with the Ukrainian government. There are concerns the move by Moscow could cause a direct confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian units. Germany's DAX fell 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 fell 0.75 percent.
In company news, Dynergy jumped $4.28, or 14 percent, to $33.96 after the company announced it was buying $6.25 billion in power plants from Duke Energy and Energy Capital Partners. The deal would double Dynergy's power generation capabilities. Duke Energy rose 68 cents, or 1 percent, to $73.72 on the news as well.
Aeropostale plunged 10 percent after forecasting a big loss in the current quarter. Gap rose 5 percent after reporting a surge in profits.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.40 percent.