US stocks settle on mixed note on Friday

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,671.95, down 62.76 points, or 0.23%; the S&P 500 added 9.16 points, or 0.28%, to close at 3,224.73; while the Nasdaq Composite gained 29.36 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 10,503.19 on Friday.

US stocks closed Friday mostly along the flatline as investors reacted to disappointing consumer sentiment data and gauged the potential for additional fiscal stimulus in the U.S. and Europe while COVID-19 cases continue to climb.

Netflix reported second-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations, pushing the stock down 6.5%. The company's weak guidance for third-quarter subscriber growth a key metric for the streaming giant also contributed to the steep sell-off in the stock.

Shares of other major tech companies also struggled Friday. Amazon pulled back by 1.2%. Microsoft dipped 0.5% and Apple slid 0.2%.

The U.S. posted a record of more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day Friday, the highest reported by any country since the start of the outbreak. The U.S. now has 3.58 million cases, or about a quarter of the global total, and 138,360 deaths.

On the macro front, the early reading of the consumer-sentiment survey in July fell to 73.2 from 78.1 last month, the University of Michigan said Friday. Final results for July will be released in two weeks. The index has fallen close to a pandemic low, erasing almost all the gains in the prior two months.

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