US STOCKS-Wall St near even, dragged by Nike 6% drop after warning

The Dow and S&P 500 were little changed in Friday afternoon trading following a two-day rally, with a downbeat sales forecast from Nike offsetting gains in financial and energy shares. The sportswear maker's shares dropped 6.2% and were the biggest drag on the Dow and the S&P 500 after it also warned of delays during the holiday shopping season, blaming a supply chain crunch.

The Dow and S&P 500 were little changed in Friday afternoon trading following a two-day rally, with a downbeat sales forecast from Nike offsetting gains in financials and energy shares.

The sportswear maker's shares dropped 6.2% and were the biggest drag on the Dow and the S&P 500 after it also warned of delays during the holiday shopping season, blaming a supply chain crunch. Shares of footwear retailer Foot Locker shed 7.2%.

However, gains in economically sensitive energy, financials and industrials share limited losses. The S&P 500 was on track to post a slight gain for the week.

"The last few days have shown a pronounced trend toward recovery in the market and back toward the highs," said Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey. "There's plenty of things to worry about, but bottom line, short-term rates make putting your money in cash unattractive, and bonds seem riskier at these levels than stocks do to many investors."

Stocks fell sharply at the start of the week due to concerns over a default by China's Evergrande and its potential risk to global financial markets and also ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve statement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.96 points, or 0.01%, to 34,762.86, the S&P 500 gained 0.61 points, or 0.01%, to 4,449.59 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 32.69 points, or 0.22%, to 15,019.56.

Investors are also looking for signs of progress on President Joe Biden's spending and budget bills. Also, shares of cryptocurrency-related firms Coinbase Global, MicroStrategy Inc, Riot Blockchain and Marathon Patent Group fell after China's central bank put a ban on crypto trading and mining. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.31-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.40-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 69 new highs and 63 new lows.