Stocks’ frothy run takes a pause

U.S. stocks retreated on Friday, ending the longest advance by the Dow Jones industrial average in more than 16 years and containing the S&P 500 just as it neared its record close.

“The market is looking for any excuse to take a breather. We’ve been heading up for a time, so this is just a pause. You can’t go up all the time, just like you can’t go down all the time,” said Richard “Chip” Cobb, a portfolio manager at BMT Asset Management in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

On the run after a 10-session advance, its longest win streak in more than 16 years, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 25.03 points to 14,514.11, leaving it with a 0.8 percent weekly gain.

A day after closing within two points of the all-time closing high of 1,565.15 hit in October 2007, the S&P 500 index on Friday fell 2.53 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,560.70, shaving its gain from the week-ago close to 0.6 percent.

The Nasdaq composite shed 9.86 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,249.07, leaving it 0.1 percent higher for the week.

Bank of America Corp. rose 3.8 percent after the Federal Reserve approved its share-buyback plan.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 1.9 percent and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gained 0.5 percent after the Federal Reserve approved their capital plans but also asked them to resubmit new ones in six months.

Separately, a Senate probe determined JPMorgan overlooked risk and misled investors in dealing with escalating losses stemming from bad bets on derivatives.

Shares of DirecTV rallied 4.5 percent a day after the provider of satellite TV withdrew from the bidding for the Brazilian phone and Internet unit of Vivendi SA.

The final day of the week also brought quadruple-witching, which refers to the third Friday of every March, June, September and December. On these days, market-index futures, market-index options, stock options and stock futures expire, often bringing on increased volatility and volume.