US STOCKS-Nike and Banks Hoist S&P 500 to Closing Record

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* Nike up to record after strong earnings forecast

* FedEx slips after missing 2022 profit forecast

* Virgin Galactic skyrockets on approval for space tourism

* Indices: Dow + 0.69%, S&P 500 + 0.33%, Nasdaq -0.06% (Updates after end of session)

By Noel Randewich and Medha Singh

June 25 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 ended the week at a record high on Friday, driven by Nike and several banks, as weaker-than-expected inflation data allayed concerns about a sudden decrease in stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

Nike Inc jumped 15.5% to an all-time high after the sneaker maker forecast fiscal year sales ahead of Wall Street estimates, helping the Dow Jones rank among the top three indexes .

Bank of America climbed 1.9% and Wells Fargo rose 2.7% after the Fed announced that the big banks had authorized stress tests and would no longer face pandemic-related restrictions on the repurchase of shares and payment of dividends.

The S&P 500 Financial Index rose 1.3% and was the best performer among 11 sector indices.

“Today is a small profit-taking in technology and a reallocation in banks after the stress test results,” said Dennis Dick, proprietary trader at Bright Trading LLC, adding that he ‘expects banks to announce a dividend increase soon.

A bipartisan Senate infrastructure spending deal passed by US President Joe Biden on Thursday continued to drive stocks higher, with materials and industrials indices rising and helping the S&P 500 outperform the Nasdaq.

“The positive news from the infrastructure package favors the S&P 500 more than the Nasdaq. The Nasdaq doesn’t pour cement in roads or put steel in bridges. It’s the S&P 500,” said Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa. , Oklahoma.

The latest personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data showed that a measure of core inflation rose less than expected in May. Core PCE rose 3.4% year-on-year as expected, above the Fed’s flexible 2% target.

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Billionaire Richard Branson’s spaceship company Virgin Galactic has climbed nearly 40% and was the second most traded company on Wall Street after receiving approval from the US aviation safety regulator to transport people in the ‘space.

With FTSE Russell rebuilding its indices after a wild stock market year marked by the pandemic and stock “memes”, volume on US stock exchanges jumped to 15.1 billion shares, from an average of 11.2 billion over the years. Last 20 trading days. nL2N2O01WH]

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.69% to end at 34,433.84 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.33% to 4,280.69 points.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.06% to 14,360.39.

Over the week, the S&P 500 gained 2.7%, the Dow Jones gained 3.4% and the Nasdaq gained 2.4%. It was the strongest week for the S&P 500 since early February and the strongest for the Nasdaq since April.

FedEx Corp fell 3.6% after the U.S. delivery company missed its 2022 profit forecast due to hiring difficulties.

CarMax Inc jumped 6.7% after the used car retailer topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue, helped by strong demand as more people switched to personal vehicles instead. than public transport due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rising issues outnumbered falling on the NYSE by a ratio of 1.29 to 1; on the Nasdaq, a ratio of 1.22 to 1 favored advances.

The S&P 500 posted 32 new 52 week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 149 new highs and 14 new lows.

(Additional report by Devik Jain and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Aurora Ellis)