U.S. markets and exchange-traded funds faltered on Friday, but were on track for three weeks of gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on reducing stimulus weighed on sentiment .

The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP), which tracks the S&P 500 Equal Weight (EWI) index, gained 0.4% on Friday. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%.

Positive earnings from American Express helped lift markets early in Friday’s session, but markets slipped after Powell said the U.S. central bank was “on track” to cut back on asset purchases, Reuters reports.

“Anytime he (Powell) has talked about cutting so far, the markets haven’t been bothered by it, but now, at record levels, investors tend to be a little more sensitive to such news. “Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab, told Reuters.

Nonetheless, all three major indices were on track for weekly gains, with the S&P 500 set for its third straight week of gains.

While earnings season has helped support the mood at risk, issues of supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures and labor shortages have been among the biggest concerns of the business season. third quarter results.

“Currently, we view the challenges in the energy, product and labor markets as transitory rather than the beginnings of a new ‘stagflationary’ economic regime,” said Mark Haefele, CIO at UBS Global Wealth Management, in a note, reports the Wall Street Journal. .

Analysts expect S&P 500 earnings to rise 34.8% year-on-year for the third quarter, up from expectations of 31.9% earlier in the week, according to data from Refinitiv.

“It’s always a solid backdrop for the stock market,” Gabriela Santos, global markets strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, told the WSJ.

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