Financial Markets                      12/13 09:34

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks were mixed in morning trading on Wall Street Friday, 
but managed to claw back some of their losses from a rare bumpy week.

   The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, though it is still on track for a loss for the week 
after three straight weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16 
points, or less than 0.1% to 43,899 as of 10:06 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq 
rose 0.5% and is hovering around its record.

   Technology stocks were supporting the markets gains, despite the majority of 
stocks in the S&P 500 falling. Pricey stock values for technology companies 
give the sector more weight in pushing the market higher or lower.

   Broadcom surged 20% after the semiconductor company beat Wall Street's 
profit targets and gave a glowing forecast, highlighting its artificial 
intelligence products. The company also raised its dividend.

   Artificial intelligence technology has been a focal point for the technoloy 
sector and the overall stock market over the last year. Tech companies, and 
Wall Street, expect demand for AI to continue driving growth for semiconductor 
and other technology companies. Gains for other semiconductor companies also 
helped lift the market. Micron Technology rose 3.6%.

   Furniture and housewares company RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, 
surged 15.1% after raising its forecast for revenue growth for the year.

   Wall Street's rally stalled this week amid mixed economic reports and ahead 
of the Federal Reserve's last meeting of the year. The central bank will meet 
next week and is widely expected to cut interest rates for a third time since 
September.

   Expectations of a series of rate cuts has driven the S&P 500 to 57 all-time 
highs so far this year.

   Treasury yields edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 
4.36% from 4.34% late Thursday.

   European markets were mostly higher, though Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.2%. 
Britain's economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% month-on-month in October, 
following a 0.1% decline in September, according to data from the Office for 
National Statistics.

   Asian markets closed mostly lower.

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