By Matt Jarzemsky
The S&P 500 stepped back from an all-time high Friday, as
investors weighed remarks by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet
Yellen and a flare-up in Russia's conflict with Ukraine.
The index slipped 3.97 points, or 0.2%, to 1988.40, off
Thursday's record close of 1992.37. The decline pared the S&P
500's third-straight weekly advance to a gain of 1.7%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 38.27 points, or 0.2%, to
17001.22, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 6.45 points, or
0.1%, to 4538.55.
Investors appraised remarks by Ms. Yellen at a conference in
Jackson Hole, Wyo, which suggested the Fed is in no hurry to raise
interest rates even as the labor market is improving. Market
participants are watching for hints as to when the Fed will reverse
an easy-money stance that has fueled stocks' rally to record
levels.
"We have the backdrop of a very accommodative Fed," said Michael
Marrale, head of research, sales and trading at brokerage firm ITG.
"Janet is, I think, a friend of the equity markets, in a very
meaningful way. I think her comments today support that view."
Meanwhile, simmering tension between Russia and Ukraine put
traders on edge. Ukraine said Russian trucks crossed into Ukrainian
rebel-held territory without being accompanied by the Red Cross in
violation of an agreement between the two countries. The Dow
briefly fell as many as 55 points after the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization condemned the convoy's entry into Ukraine.
Ten-year Treasury notes clawed back earlier price losses as
fresh signs of geopolitical tensions outweighed the latest comments
from Ms. Yellen.
Despite the central-bank and geopolitical drama, traders said it
was a quiet day at the office. U.S. stock-trading volume was the
lowest of any full session this year.
"Low overall volumes have limited the ability for large
institutional orders to be filled, hence the flat market," said
J.T. Cacciabaudo, head of equity trading at brokerage firm Sterne
Agee.
Elsewhere in global markets, the Stoxx Europe 600 dropped
0.2%.
Gold futures gained 0.4% to $1,278.60 an ounce and crude-oil
futures slid 0.3% to $93.65 a barrel.
In corporate news, Dynegy jumped 8.7% after agreeing to a $6.25
billion purchase of coal and gas generation assets from Duke Energy
and Energy Capital Partners, a deal that would nearly double the
buyer's power generation capacity. Duke's shares edged down
0.2%.
Foot Locker added 2.9% after the company's quarterly earnings
and sales topped analysts' forecasts.
Min Zeng contributed to this article.
Write to Matt Jarzemsky at matthew.jarzemsky@wsj.com