How major US stock indexes fared Friday 5/19/2023

Wall Street closed at a lower level, but it was still its best week since the beginning of March.

S&P 500 dropped 0.1% on Friday. The Dow dropped 109 points or 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%.

Stocks fell due to fears about the talks taking place in Washington to avoid a default by the U.S. Government. The S&P 500 has broken out of a six-week stretch in which it did not move more than 1% either up or down. The Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's comments were interpreted by traders as meaning that interest rate hikes may end next month.

Friday:

The S&P500 fell 6.07 points or 0.1% to 4,191.98.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 109.28 point, or 0.3% to 33,426.63.

The Nasdaq Composite fell by 30.94 points or 0.2%, to 12,657.90.

Russell 2000, the index of smaller companies, fell by 11.14 points or 0.6% to 1,773.72.

This week's theme:

The S&P500 is up 67.90, or 1.6%.

The Dow Jones is up 126.01 or 0.4%.

The Nasdaq has gained 373.15, or 3%.

The Russell 2000 index is up 32.87 or 1.9%.

The year:

The S&P500 is up 352.48 or 9.2%.

The Dow has gained 279.38 points or 0.8%.

The Nasdaq has gained 2,191.41 or 20.9%.

The Russell 2000 index is up by 12.47 points or 0.7%.