US stocks mostly lower on weak US, eurozone data


(MENAFN- AFP) Wall Street stocks moved mostly lower in early trade Friday following disappointing US economic growth and eurozone inflation data.

About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,385.96, down 30.89 points (0.18 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 5.97 (0.30 percent) to 2,015.28, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.82 (0.02 percent) to 4,684.23.

US economic growth came in at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, according to an estimate from the Commerce Department.

That marked a steep decline from the brisk 5.0 percent growth in the third quarter. Still, the data showed personal consumption expenditures rose a robust 4.3 percent.

Analysts also pointed to the drag from a eurozone inflation report, which showed consumer prices fell by a record 0.6 percent in January, raising fears that deflation is taking hold in the region.

Dow member Visa jumped 5.2 percent following news that fourth-quarter earnings rose 11.5 percent to $1.6 billion. The company also announced a four-for-one stock split.

Dow component Chevron slipped 0.4 percent as fourth-quarter earnings tumbled 29.6 percent to $3.5 billion largely due to the fall in oil prices. The petroleum giant announced a $35 billion capital investment program for 2015, 13 percent lower than last year.

Amazon bolted 10.7 percent higher after it posted a fourth-quarter profit of $214 million after two straight quarters of losses. The online retailer has faced pressure from shareholders criticizing its big growth-oriented investment strategy.

Google advanced 2.9 percent after fourth-quarter net income rose 40.9 percent to $4.8 billion. That translated into $6.88 per share, below the $7.11 estimated by Wall Street analysts.

Biotech company Biogen surged 10.4 percent as it reported that fourth-quarter net income nearly doubled to $883.5 million.

Costco Wholesale rose 1.0 percent after announcing a special dividend of $5 per share.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.69 percent from 1.76 percent Thursday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.26 percent from 2.32 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.


Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.