U.S. stocks finished mixed on Friday as investors looked ahead to next week's Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.59 percent to 45,834.22. The Standard and Poor's 500 slipped 0.05 percent to 6,584.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.44 percent to 22,141.1, marking its fifth consecutive record close.
Seven of the 11 primary Standard and Poor's 500 sectors ended lower, with health care and materials leading the declines, down 1.13 percent and 0.97 percent, respectively. Consumer discretionary and utilities were the best performers, rising 0.57 percent and 0.56 percent.
The University of Michigan's preliminary survey showed consumer sentiment fell more than expected in September, while long-run inflation expectations rose to 3.9 percent as households expressed concern about tariffs.
Even so, investors remained confident that the Fed would cut rates at its Sept. 17 policy meeting. Futures markets point to a quarter-point reduction with near certainty, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
On the corporate front, Microsoft climbed 1.77 percent after striking a deal with OpenAI that would allow the artificial intelligence company to shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit model.
Tesla gained 7.36 percent, Apple added 1.76 percent, and Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Broadcom posted modest advances. Amazon was the sole large-cap tech laggard, slipping 0.78 percent.
U.S. stocks close mixed ahead of Fed decision on interest rates
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday chaired a State Council executive meeting which mulled measures to boost consumption by accelerating the formation of new growth points in service consumption.
The meeting called for continued efforts to boost consumption by fully leveraging the integrated effects of different policies, linking improvement in people's wellbeing to consumption growth, and giving full play to the fundamental role of consumption in driving economic growth.
The meeting emphasized the importance of accelerating the cultivation of new growth points in service consumption, supporting new business forms, models, and scenarios, and increasing the supply of high-quality services.
Efforts should be made to improve the long-term mechanism for promoting consumption by formulating and implementing plans aimed at expanding consumption during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), increasing the income of urban and rural residents, speeding up the removal of unreasonable restrictive measures for consumption, and implementing the paid leave system. These measures are intended to boost people's consumption capacity and willingness to spend, promote the upgrading of consumption and industrial structures, and accelerate the building of a strong domestic market.
The meeting also made arrangements for actions to clear overdue payments to enterprises and ensure the issue of wage arrears for migrant workers is properly addressed. The meeting also deliberated and adopted a draft decision of the State Council on revising and abolishing some administrative regulations.
Chinese premier chairs meeting on promoting service consumption
