12:58 PM EDT, 07/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes slipped in choppy midday trading on Friday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite consolidating near record highs.

The Nasdaq was down less than 0.1% at 20,882.5 after touching its all-time high of 20,980.6 earlier in the session. The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% to 6,292.2, earlier hitting a new intraday record high of 6,315.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 44,269.8. The utility sector was the standout gainer intraday, while energy emerged as the steepest decliner.

The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 61.8 in July, from 60.7 in June and ahead of Bloomberg's consensus forecast of 61.5. One-year inflation expectations fell to 4.4% from 5%, and five-year outlook declined to 3.6% from 4% -- both the lowest readings since February.

Michigan researchers said inflation remains the dominant concern for consumers, with meaningful sentiment improvement unlikely until price stability improves.

U.S. Treasury yields declined, with the 10-year yield down 4.2 basis points to 4.42%, and the two-year falling 5.4 basis points to 3.86%.

In a speech titled "The Case for Cutting Now" at the Money Marketeers event at NYU, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he believes it makes sense to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the July Federal Open Market Committee meeting, a news report from FactSet said. He said the FOMC could hold policy for one or two more meetings after July if data remain steady, still allowing the Fed to meet its forecast for two more cuts this year.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve overnight released a letter defending its headquarters renovations, which have been used as a line of attack on Chair Jerome Powell by administration officials and other GOP legislators.

In earnings news, Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) topped Q2 expectations, adding over 1 million new brokerage accounts and recording a jump in trading revenue. Industrial giant 3M ( MMM ) raised its full-year earnings outlook after delivering better-than-expected quarterly results. American Express ( AXP ) posted a robust quarter buoyed by strong card member spending and reaffirmed its 2025 guidance.

On the corporate front, Invesco (IVZ) shares surged 14% after its real estate platform and Bozzuto announced a $330 million multifamily investment program with $1 billion in deployment capacity targeting East Coast markets, making IVZ the top performer on the S&P 500.

Further, in economic news, June housing starts increased 4.6% from May to an annualized rate of 1.321 million, topping Bloomberg estimates of 1.300 million. Building permits edged up 0.2% to 1.397 million, beating expectations and reversing the prior month's dip.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that unemployment rates in June fell in two states, rose in one, and remained unchanged elsewhere.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.2% to $67.38 a barrel, giving up intraday gains.