Mixed Day of Trading Ends Relatively Calm Week

US stocks drifted through a quiet Friday as Wall Street closed out an unusually calm week.

• The Dow fell 119.07 points, or 0.3%, to 41,249.38, ending the week down 0.2%.
• The S&P 500 fell 4.03 points, or 0.1%, to 5,659.91, down or 0.5% for the week.
• The Nasdaq rose 0.78 points, or less than 0.1%, to 17,928.92, down 0.3% for the week.

The week's main event for financial markets is likely coming on Saturday, the AP reports. That's when high-level US and Chinese officials will meet in Switzerland for their first talks since President Trump launched an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies. The fear among investors and economists is that a recession could hit if the US doesn't reach trade deals that lower its tariffs by enough and quickly enough. Trump on Friday floated the idea of bringing tariffs on Chinese imports down to 80% from their current 145% rate. Trump's posting on social media caused a brief jolt in financial markets. Futures for US stocks sank immediately. But markets quickly calmed as the wait continued for what US and Chinese officials will say after their meeting.

In the meantime, the flow of earnings reports for the start of the year from companies is slowing but still moving the market. Expedia sank 7.3% even though the travel website reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The owner of Vrbo and Hotels.com said demand was weaker than it expected during the quarter. And Sweetgreen wilted by 16.2% after the salad seller reported a slightly larger loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. All that helped work against a 28.1% rally for Lyft, which delivered a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Insulet jumped 20.9% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the medical device company reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. (More Wall Street stories.)