On Friday, major stock indexes on Wall Street witnessed a mixed finish, bringing a rare bumpy week to a close. The S&P 500 ended essentially flat, with a decline of less than 0.1%, having wavered between tiny gains and losses throughout the day. This marked the first weekly loss for the benchmark index after three consecutive weeks of gains.

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The S&P 500 ended with little change on Friday, yet it reached a new record a week ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite edged up by 0.1%, just falling short of the record high it set on Wednesday. In the bond market, Treasury yields rose.There were significantly more decliners than gainers on the New York Stock Exchange. However, gains in technology stocks played a crucial role in tempering losses in other sectors such as communication services and financials.Broadcom stood out with a 24.4% surge, becoming the biggest gainer in the S&P 500. The semiconductor company exceeded Wall Street's profit targets and offered an optimistic forecast, highlighting its artificial intelligence products. Additionally, it raised its dividend. This significant gain helped cushion the market's broader fall. The weight of pricey stock values for technology companies like Broadcom gives them more influence in driving the market up or down.Artificial intelligence technology has been a central focus for the technology sector and the overall stock market over the past year. Tech companies and Wall Street anticipate that the demand for AI will continue to drive growth for semiconductor and other technology companies.Some tech stocks had a negative impact on the market. Nvidia fell by 2.2%, Meta Platforms dropped by 1.7%, and Google parent Alphabet slid by 1.1%. Among the other decliners were Airbnb, which saw a 4.7% drop and was the biggest loser in the S&P 500, and Charles Schwab, which closed 4% lower.Furniture and housewares company RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, surged by 17% after raising its revenue growth forecast for the year.In total, the S&P 500 lost 0.16 points to close at 6,051.09. The Dow dropped 86.06 points to 43,828.06, and the Nasdaq rose 23.88 points to 19,926.72.This week, Wall Street's rally came to a halt due to mixed economic reports and ahead of the Federal Reserve's last meeting of the year. The central bank is set to meet next week and is widely expected to cut interest rates for the third time since September.Expectations of a series of rate cuts have propelled the S&P 500 to 57 all-time highs so far this year. The Fed had been raising its benchmark interest rate following an aggressive rate hiking policy aimed at curbing inflation. It increased rates from near-zero in early 2022 to a two-decade high by mid-2023. Inflation began to ease under the pressure of higher interest rates and is now nearly at the central bank's 2% target.Despite the squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs, the economy, including consumer spending and employment, remained strong. A slowing job market has, however, contributed to the long-awaited reversal of the Fed's policy.Inflation rates have shown a slight upward trend over the past few months. A report on consumer prices this week indicated a 2.7% increase in November compared to 2.6% in October. The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures index, will be released next week, and Wall Street expects a 2.5% rise in November, up from 2.3% in October.Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY, stated that the economy remains solid heading into 2025 as consumers continue to spend and employment remains healthy. "Still, the outlook is clouded by unusually high uncertainty surrounding regulatory, immigration, trade, and tax policy," he added.Treasury yields inched higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose from 4.34% late Thursday to 4.40%.European markets also experienced a decline. Britain's FTSE 100 fell by 0.1%. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, Britain's economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% month-on-month in October, following a 0.1% decline in September.Most Asian markets closed lower.