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Investing.com – U.S. stocks struggled to find direction on Friday, as technology stocks took a breather for the second straight day as Nvidia continued to pull back from its all-time high.
By 13:26 EST (17:26 GMT), the index was down 14 points, or 0.1%, trading 0.2% lower, while also down 0.2%.
NVIDIA falls to third place on the list of most valuable companies
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) stock fell more than 2%, adding to losses from the previous day as investors appeared to take profits from the chipmaker’s runaway rally that saw it briefly usurp Microsoft (NASDAQ:) as the most valuable company on Tuesday.
Nvidia was valued at $3.14 trillion in recent trading, just below Apple’s (NASDAQ:) valuations of $3.23 trillion and Microsoft’s valuations of $3.33 trillion.
Despite the slowdown at Nvidia, public enthusiasm around AI applications should mean that underlying demand for the stock remains strong.
Boeing is reportedly close to a deal to buy Spirit Aerosystems; CarMax is in the joy of profits
Boeing (NYSE:) stock rose after Reuters reported that the plane manufacturer is close to agreeing to buy back Spirit Aerosystems, its former subsidiary, which rose more than 5%.
Boeing began negotiations to buy back one of its major suppliers, which it spun off in 2005, earlier this year, but ran into difficulties due to Spirit’s work with Boeing’s main rival, Airbus.
The European Community had threatened to block any deal that included manufacturing parts from Boeing for its latest models.
CarMax (NYSE:) stock rose 1% after the used car retailer’s first-quarter earnings came in stronger than expected, even after falling 33%, while its sales beat estimates.
Manufacturing and services activity rose surprisingly in June
The second PMI readings for June came in higher than economists had expected, underscoring the strength of the economy and interest rates sooner rather than later is not an urgent issue. May data also topped economists’ expectations.
A number of Fed officials have expressed caution about expecting interest rate cuts too soon, seeking more evidence that inflation has been tamed before the central bank agrees to ease monetary policy.
The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond emphasized this point on Thursday, stressing the need for more clarity on the path of inflation before interest rate cuts are considered.
“My personal view is that we get more conviction before moving on,” Paquin told reporters after an event in Richmond on Thursday.
Volatility is seen as a “triple magic”.
Stocks are expected to have a wild end to the session as triple witching — when stock options, stock index futures and index options contracts expire on the same day — usually results in volatility as investors exit old positions and take new positions.
Peter Nourse contributed to this story
