How major US stock indexes fared Thursday, 5/16/2024

U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed close near their record levels after the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly topped the 40,000 level for the first time. The Dow ended with a loss of 0.1% Thursday. The S&P 500 index, which is much more widely followed on Wall Street, slipped 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. All three indexes set records on Wednesday amid revived hopes that cooling inflation will allow the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate this year. Walmart was one of the strongest forces propping up the market after it reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected.