Wall Street wrapped up a turbulent June on a soft note Friday, with all three major indexes finishing modestly in the red as investors locked in profits ahead of the weekend and end-of-quarter rebalancing pressured equities. The S&P 500 slipped to 5,487, the Dow shed about 130 points to 43,820, and the Nasdaq fell 0.6% to 17,640 as tech names faced mild selling pressure.
The session's standout story was Nike, which fell nearly 6% after the sneaker giant posted weaker-than-expected quarterly sales and trimmed its annual forecast. Management pointed to a cautious consumer in the U.S. and a slower-than-hoped recovery in China. The results rattled the broader consumer discretionary sector, dragging names like Lululemon and Gap lower in sympathy.
On the bright side, Micron Technology jumped over 4%, leading the semiconductor space after a flurry of bullish analyst notes ahead of its closely watched earnings report next week. The AI memory chip narrative remains very much alive, and traders are positioning accordingly.
The VIX edged up to 18.4, reflecting mild unease heading into a holiday-shortened week. Oil held near $74 a barrel, while gold ticked up to $2,318 as investors sought some safe-haven cushion into the weekend.