NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks took small losses to end a quiet week of trading. Energy companies fell as a rally in oil prices faded and investors continue to sell the safe assets they favored earlier this year. Technology and materials companies made small gains.
Stocks were lower all day. While U.S. oil prices rose for the seventh day in a row, investors don't appear to expect further gains and they sold energy company shares. Bond prices fell and yields climbed. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 100 points in early trading, but those losses shrank as technology companies and chemicals makers added to the big gains they've made in recent months.
While stocks haven't made many big moves this summer and the Standard & Poor's 500 index was flat this week, there are signs investors feel comfortable enough to take bigger risks. Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist for Voya Investment Strategies, said investors recognize that the Federal Reserve and other central banks are keeping the stock market stable. So investors are putting more money into energy, materials and tech stocks instead of the companies they turned to during the market turmoil at the start of this year.
"Central banks continue to step in to absorb the risk," Cavanaugh said. "(Investors) don't need the utilities and telecoms anymore."
The Dow shed 45.13 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,552.57. The S&P 500 fell 3.15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,183.87. The Nasdaq composite lost 1.77 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 5,238.38. The Nasdaq rose for the eighth week in a row, although the gain was just 0.1 percent.
U.S. crude rose 30 cents to $48.52 a barrel in New York. U.S. oil has climbed 17 percent in its seven-day streak, but its prices has stayed between $40 and $50 a barrel for about four months, and with an enormous glut of oil on the market, it may not rise much further. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 1 cent to $50.88 a barrel in London.
***This July 9, 2015 photo shows a Wall Street sign near the New York Stock Exchange in New York. World stock markets turned lower on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016 as investors speculated whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in coming months.