US stocks close mixed on conflicting data but still in green a week after hitting records

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday, Aug. 15, giving up some gains after the blue-chip Dow and broad S&P 500 hit new record highs, on a drop in consumer sentiment.

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index unexpectedly fell to 58.6 in August from 61.7 last month as inflation worries rose.

"Overall, consumers are no longer bracing for the worst-case scenario for the economy feared in April when reciprocal tariffs were announced and then paused," said Joanne Hsu, director of Surveys of Consumers. "However, consumers continue to expect both inflation and unemployment to deteriorate in the future."

The drop in sentiment overshadowed a positive retail sales report before the open and gave investors a reason to book some profits before the weekend. Overall retail sales rose 0.5% last month from June, as expected. Sales, excluding automobiles, gained 0.3% to match forecasts, as well.

Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of economic activity.

“The economy may be slowing, but consumers continued to do their part to keep it humming last month," said Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

The Dow rose 0.08%, or 34.86 points, to 44,946.12 after taking out its last record high on Dec. 4 and getting an additional boost from gains in UnitedHealth and other healthcare firms. The S&P 500 slipped 0.29%, or 18.74 points, to 6,449.80; and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 0.4%, or 87.693 points, to 21,622.977. The S&P 500's latest record was earlier this week as investors bet on a Federal Reserve rate cut in September.

The benchmark 10-year yield rose to 4.32%.A screen displays the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the closing bell on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Corporate news

Berkshire Hathaway took a new stake in the company. Berkshire bought more than 5 million shares in the healthcare firm for a stake worth about $1.6 billion at the end of June. David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management LP also raised its stake by 2.3 million shares. Shares of UnitedHealth soared 11.98%. The Trump administration is discussing taking as much as an 8.9% stake in chipmaker Intel. Intel shares jumped 2.93%. Circle Internet Group priced its 10 million share offering at $130 per share. The company is selling 2 million of those shares. Shares gained 7.2%. Applied Materials beat third-quarter estimates but current quarter guidance missed analysts' forecasts. Shares plunged 14.07%. Sandisk reported a drop in fourth-quarter margins. Shares lost 4.58%. Opendoor's chief executive resigned, and the stock rose 4.28%.

Cryptocurrency

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified his comment on Aug. 14 that the United States wouldn't buy any more Bitcoin for the government's reserve but would, instead, build its stash with confiscated digital coin.

Story Continues

He clarified later that it does not mean the United States wouldn't buy any Bitcoin. He said in a social media post: "Treasury is committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve."

Bitcoin was last down 1.13% at $117,053.00.

(This story was updated with new information.)

Medora Lee is a money, markets and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US stocks end off records after mixed data but post gains for the week

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