• US consumer sentiment slips again in September, survey says
• Microsoft higher after deal to restructure OpenAI
• S&P 500 -0.05%, Nasdaq +0.45%, Dow -0.59%

Sept 12 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq notched a record high close on Friday in a mixed trading session, lifted by Microsoft as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week, when it is widely expected to cut interest rates to counter a slowdown in the jobs market.

Fueled by Tesla and other technology-related stocks, the Nasdaq added to a rally in the previous session that saw all three indexes hit all-time highs.

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Investors are laser-focused on the Fed's meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. Traders expect the central bank to cut interest rates by 25 basis points after recent data showed longstanding weakness in hiring and easing inflation concerns.

"Because we had such a nice jump in the stock market yesterday, investors are basically catching their breath," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist CFRA Research. "There's really not going to be any data between now and Wednesday. It's a sort of wait-and-see attitude."

Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab gained 1.8% after the technology giant avoided a possible hefty EU antitrust fine by offering customers reduced prices for Office products excluding Teams.

Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab jumped 7.4% after board chair Robyn Denholm dismissed concerns that CEO Elon Musk's political activity had hurt sales at the electric-vehicle maker and said the billionaire was "front and center" at the company after several months at the White House. With Friday's surge, Tesla shares remain down 2% in 2025.

Declines in Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab and paint-maker Sherwin-Williams (SHW.N) , opens new tab kept the Dow Jones Industrial Average in negative territory. The S&P 500 declined marginally.

The University of Michigan's survey showed U.S. consumer sentiment fell for a second straight month in September as consumers saw rising risks to business conditions, the labor market and inflation.

The S&P 500 declined 0.05% to end the session at 6,584.29 points.

The Nasdaq gained 0.45% to 22,141.10 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.59% to 45,834.22 points.

Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led lower by health care (.SPXHC) , opens new tab, down 1.13%, followed by a 0.97% loss in materials (.SPLRCM) , opens new tab.

Following signs of a worsening jobs market, interest rate futures reflect expectations of cuts totaling 75 basis points by the end of the year.

For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.6%, the Dow climbed almost 1% and the Nasdaq added 2%, helped by a revival in artificial intelligence trade after cloud computing giant Oracle's (ORCL.N) , opens new tab strong forecast on Tuesday.

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) , opens new tab jumped 17%, extending a surge from Wednesday, when a source said Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O) , opens new tab was preparing a bid for the struggling media company.

Shares of vaccine makers fell after a report said U.S. health officials are planning to link coronavirus vaccines to the deaths of 25 children. Moderna (MRNA.O) , opens new tab declined 7.4%, while Pfizer (PFE.N) , opens new tab and Novavax (NVAX.O) , opens new tab both lost more than 3%.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) , opens new tab by a 3.3-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 22 new highs and 3 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 106 new highs and 43 new lows.

https://www.reuters.com/business/nasdaq-notches-record-high-close-traders-look-fed-meeting-2025-09-12/