http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150522/financial_markets-c153667ac9.html
NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market capped a quiet week of trading on a down note. Major indexes fell from the start on Friday as oil drillers and other energy-related companies followed oil prices lower. Stocks spent much of the rest of the day drifting between losses and gains as investors considered a mixed bag corporate earnings and a slight increase in inflation.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed down 4.76 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,126.06. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 53.72 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,232.02. The Nasdaq composite edged down 1.43 points to 5,089.36. Trading was light ahead of the Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. Just 2.5 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, three-quarters of the normal level.
Nine of the 10 industry sectors of the S&P 500 were lower, led by a 0.8 percent drop in telecommunications stocks. Among stocks making big gains, Deere & Co. rose $3.89, or 4.3 percent, to $93.35 after the equipment maker beat analysts' estimates for its latest quarterly earnings. The company also raised its profit forecast for the year. Campbell Soup rose 98 cents, or 2 percent, to $47.91 after reporting better-than-expected results, too.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported that inflation rose 0.1 percent in April, its third straight increase. The report also noted that core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, climbed 0.3 percent, the biggest one-month increase in more than two years. The numbers suggest that an improving economy could be setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark short-term interest rate. The central market has held the rate near zero for more than six years.