Wall Street coasts toward the finish of another record-setting week

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NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is coasting toward the finish of its latest record-setting week on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and was on track to close out its sixth winning week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 146 points, or 0.3%, as of 2:02 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.

All three hit record highs the day before, as did the small stocks in the Russell 2000 index, which finally surpassed its prior peak set in 2021. Stocks have been rallying on expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates in order to give the economy a boost after it lowered them for the first time this year on Wednesday.

FedEx helped support the market after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It rose 2.9%, thanks in part to strength for its domestic package business.

Newmont rose 4.4% after the gold miner sold its investment in Canada’s Orla Mining for $439 million. It added to a stellar run, and Newmont’s stock has more than doubled so far this year as the price of gold has shot to records.

Gold has benefited from expectations for lower interest rates, along with worries about high inflation and the potential that mountains of debt for the U.S. and other governments could make their currencies worth less.

Lennar dropped 4.4% after the homebuilder reported weaker revenue for its latest quarter than analysts expected, even though its profit topped forecasts. Executive Chairman Stuart Miller pointed to “the continued pressures of today’s housing market” and said Lennar had to offer additional incentives to entice customers to buy homes, which dragged down the average sales price.

Easier interest rates could give the struggling housing market a boost, and mortgage rates have already come down in expectation of a rate-cutting campaign by the Fed.