Wall Street Mixed as Nasdaq Hits Record Close, Profit-Taking and Sector Swings Follow

Despite upbeat economic data and record intraday highs, markets closed mixed with Netflix and biotech stocks weighing on gains while utilities and brokerages saw strong advances.

The Nasdaq inched up 10.01 points (0.1%) to a new record closing high of 20,895.66, the S&P 500 edged down 0.57 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,296.79 and the Dow fell 142.30 points (0.3%) to 44,342.19.

Stocks initially climbed on Wall Street, buoyed by Thursday's positive U.S. economic data that calmed fears over Trump?s trade wars. However, gains faded as investors took profits after the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit new intraday records.

Netflix slumped by 5.1% which came after the company reported better than expected second quarter results but warned its operating margin in the second half will be lower than the first half. American Express (AXP) and 3M (MMM) too notably moved downwards even though the companies reported second quarter results that exceeded estimates. University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index climbed to 61.8 in July after surging to 60.7 in June.

Utilities stocks moved strongly upwards, with the Dow Jones Utilities Average climbing by 1.6% to its best closing level in over seven months. Brokerage stocks were considerably strong, as reflected by the 1.3% gain posted by the NYSE Arca Securities Broker/Dealer Index. Interactive Brokers (IBKR) helped lead the sector higher, surging by 7.8% after reporting better than expected second quarter results. Biotechnology stocks came under pressure over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 2.2%. Airline and oil service stocks too notably moved downside, offsetting the strength in the aforementioned sectors.

Asia-Pacific stocks turned in a mixed performance. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index increased by 0.5%. The major European markets also ended the day mixed while the German DAX Index fell by 0.3%, the French CAC 40 Index closed just above the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.2%.

In the bond market, treasuries moved to the upside after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 3.1 bps to 4.43%.

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