U.S. stocks ended lower Friday, as weakness in the energy sector outweighed modest gains elsewhere. Earlier, a closely watched measure of employment costs decelerated in the second quarter, sparking hopes that the Federal Reserve may delay rate hikes this year. Analysts pointed out that weak wage growth is a symptom of slowing growth, which does not bode well for corporate earnings. The main indexes recorded modest weekly and monthly gains. The S&P 500 closed 4.71 points, or 0.2%, lower at 2,103.90. The index ended July roughly at the same level it finished in May, erasing all of the previous month’s losses. The weekly gain for the benchmark stood at 1.2%, while it booked a 2% gain over the month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 55.32 points, or 0.3%, to 17,690.66, but ended the week with a gains of 0.7% and booked a 0.4% gain over the month. The Nasdaq Composite ended the session less than a point lower at 5,218.28. The tech-heavy index rose 0.8% over the week and 2.9% over the month.
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