Wall Street fell short of a record following mixed profit reports from big companies. The S&P 500 ended essentially flat Friday, a day after rallying within 0.1% of its all-time high set last month.

U.S. stocks were little changed at the open after January retail sales fell sharply. Indexes on track for up week, with Dow and S&P 500 near records.

The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq gained Thursday as the stock market reacted to President Donald Trump's tariff announcement, inflation data, and Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

The Dow Jones held on to a gain while the Nasdaq remained strongest on Monday. Palantir was flirting with a high.

Another seasonal trend is the four-year U.S. presidential cycle. In general, the market rises modestly in the first year after a presidential election, followed by trouble in the second year. In years ...