LIVE MARKETS-Wall Street adds a late small spring to its step

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com

WALL STREET ADDS A LATE SMALL SPRING TO ITS STEP

For the second day of spring, Wall Street indexes seemed as changeable as the weather in this famously fickle season.

A few disappointing corporate forecasts did little to encourage early traders, who had already been jittery in the face of broader economic uncertainty stemming from uncertainties surrounding U.S. policies such as trade tariffs.

But the S&P 500 .SPX somehow managed to end the day up 0.08% after falling roughly 1% earlier. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite .IXIC ended up 0.52% after earlier falling more than 1.2%.

One likely support was an indication from U.S. President Donald Trump that previously announced tariffs, expected to begin in early April, may not be as onerous as feared. Trump said there will be flexibility on tariffs and that his top trade chief plans to speak with his Chinese counterpart next week.

Also on the positive side, shares of Boeing BA.N added 3% after it won a contract to build the U.S. Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet yet, dubbed the F-47. However, Boeing's win sent shares of rival Lockheed Martin LMT.N down 5.8% on the day.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Transportation Average .DJT, seen as a key indicator of the broader economy's health, ended the session down 0.2% at 14,608.59, or 17.7% below its record closing high, achieved on Nov. 25.

The average had flirted dangerously close to a bear market confirmation, or a finish 20% below the record close. This would have meant a close at 14,203.504 or below. It's intraday low of 14,244.06 was ~19.8% under the record close.

The Dow Jones Industrial average .DJI ended up on the day, but down 6.73% from its record close. The Nasdaq ended off 11.85% from its record and the S&P 500 finished 7.76% below its record close.

The benchmark S&P 500 also managed a small gain of 0.5% for the week, snapping a 4-week string of losses.

The Nasdaq rose 0.17% for the week, also snapping four weeks of losses, while the Dow climbed 1.2% for the week after two consecutive weekly losses.

Still, among the 11 S&P 500 industry sectors, eight ended Friday's session in the red with real estate .SPLRCR and materials .SPLRCM neck-in-neck for last place down 1.02% and 1.00% respectively.

The biggest gainer was communication services .SPLRCL, up 1%, followed by smaller advances in consumer discretionary .SPLRCD and technology .SPLRCT.

A lot of the heavy lifting was done by megacaps with the Roundhill Magnificient 7 ETF MAGS.K adding 1.35%.

Here is your closing snapshot:

(Sinéad Carew, Terence Gabriel)

FOR FRIDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:

INVESTORS TURNING THEIR FOCUS TO Q1 EARNINGS SEASON - CLICK HERE

DO WE HAVE TO USE THE WORD? - CLICK HERE

ASHMORE EXPECTS LONG-TERM BONANZA FOR EMS AS DOLLAR'S SMILE LOSES SHINE - CLICK HERE

INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR BEARS LEVITATE, BULLS LANGUISH - AAII - CLICK HERE

U.S. INDEXES DROP WITH OUTLOOKS WEAK, FED TALK UNCERTAIN - CLICK HERE

STOCKS MAKE A COMEBACK AMID COOLING CORRELATIONS - CLICK HERE

TARIFF PAIN: IMPLICATIONS FOR CREDIT SPREADS - CLICK HERE

BUY LOCAL: WHY BRITISH INVESTORS NEED TO RECLAIM THEIR STOCK MARKET - CLICK HERE

WHY THE GERMAN FISCAL SHIFT COULD HURT THE PERIPHERY - CLICK HERE

THE BULL CASE FOR INDIA - CLICK HERE

EUROPEAN SHARES DROP, TRAVEL & LEISURE WEIGHS - CLICK HERE

EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES INCH LOWER AS BUSY WEEK DRAWS TO A CLOSE - CLICK HERE

UK RED TAPE, RED INK, AND RACHEL'S RULES - CLICK HERE