The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at another record high Friday, ending a week of major gains following the first major interest rate cut in more than two years. The 30-stock index rose above the flatline to settle at 42,063.36 for the first time, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite slipped about 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.

Here's how the market settled to close out the week:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -0.19% or -11.09 points to 5,702.55

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.09% or +38.17 points to 42,063.36

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -0.36% or -65.66 points to 17,948.32

In Focus:

Piper Sandler Chief Global Economist Nancy Lazar noted in a recent report that the U.S economy may be headed towards a recession when looking at the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting history, highlighting that in both 2001 and 2007 the Fed issued a 50 basis point rate cut following a long tightening cycle.

"They'd waited too long to start snugging, so inflation has already accelerated. The Fed compensated with aggressive tightening, triggering a recession 10 months after liftoff," Lazar wrote. "The pivot to easing couldn't stop that process."

"On average, it takes 10 quarters after rate liftoff for a downturn to commence. This is the 10th quarter," Lazar added.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said Friday she would have preferred the central bank to have delivered a 25 basis point cut compared to the 50 basis point the Federal Open Market Committee approved.

"Although it is important to recognize that there has been meaningful progress on lowering inflation, while core inflation remains around or above 2.5 percent, I see the risk that the Committee's larger policy action could be interpreted as a premature declaration of victory on our price stability mandate," Bowman said in a statement.

In the News:

Nike (NKE  ) announced after market Thursday that its CEO John Donahoe is stepping down on Oct. 13 and is being replaced by company veteran Elliott Hill, who is coming out of retirement and taking over the following day. Donahoe has served as head of the sneaker giant since January 2020.

"I am excited to welcome Elliott back to Nike. Given our needs for the future, the past performance of the business, and after conducting a thoughtful succession process, the Board concluded it was clear Elliott's global expertise, leadership style, and deep understanding of our industry and partners, paired with his passions for sport, our brands, products, consumers, athletes, and employees, make him the right person to lead Nike's next stage of growth," said Mark Parker, executive chairman at Nike, in a statement.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A  ) resumed selling its Bank of America (BAC  ) stake, according to a regulatory filing. The conglomerate offloaded about 22.27 million shares for roughly $896 million in separate sales from Tuesday through Thursday. Berkshire now owns 836 million shares, or a 10.8% stake.

Berkshire has sole about $8 billion of its Bank of America holdings since mid-July.

On the Earnings Front:

FedEx (FDX  ) reported disappointing first-quarter results after hours on Thursday, as its results were impacted by reduced demand for priority services and increased demand for deferred services, causing higher operating expenses.

For its full year 2025, FedEx expects revenue growth in a low single-digit percentage compared to its previous outlook of low-to-mid single-digit percentage growth. The company also forecasts for its full-year earnings per share to be in the range of $17.90 to $18.90 from $18.25 to $20.25 before accounting adjustments and $20.00 to $21.00 from $20.00 to $22.00 after excluding costs related to its cost cutting plan.

FedEx also anticipates capital spending of $5.2 billion for fiscal 2025 and expects to repurchase an additional $1.5 billion of common stock.