Major Averages Close Mixed Following Lackluster Trading Day

(RTTNews) - After trending higher over the past several sessions, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Friday before closing roughly flat. A muted reaction to a highly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen contributed to the lackluster performance.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came on the heels of Yellen's speech at the Kansas City Fed's economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Yellen's remarks did not provide any meaningful hints about the outlook for interest rates and largely focused on the difficulty in judging the remaining degree of slack in the labor market.

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the nearly flat close by the broader markets.

Commercial real estate and energy stocks moved to the downside on the day, while some strength was visible among electronic storage and internet stocks.

The major averages eventually ended the session mixed. While the Nasdaq inched up 6.45 points or 0.1 percent to 4,538.55, the Dow dipped 38.27 points or 0.2 percent to 17,001.22 and the S&P 500 edged down 3.97 points or 0.2 percent to 1,988.40.

Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved notably higher for the week. The Dow jumped by 2 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 surged up by 1.6 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.