(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Wall Street stocks were mixed early Friday ahead of a long holiday weekend as traders awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on the US economic outlook.
About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,272.32, down 13.42 points (0.07 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped from Thursday's record, falling 0.23 (0.01 percent) to 2,130.59, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 10.55 (0.21 percent) to 5,101.34.
Investors are hoping that Fed Chair Yellen's speech in the afternoon will deliver insights into when the central bank will raise near-zero interest rates, now generally expected in September at the earliest.
Shares of clothing retailer Gap fell 1.0 percent after first-quarter net income dropped eight percent to $239 million. Comparable sales at its Old Navy chain rose three percent, but fell sharply at Banana Republic and its namesake stores.
Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. jumped 4.0 percent after easily topping earnings expectations. It reported profits of $2.03 per share, compared with the $1.55 projected by analysts.
Hewlett-Packard plowed 4.8 percent higher as earnings for the quarter ending April 30 fell 20.6 percent to $1.0 billion. HP said a planned split into two companies would result in savings of $400-$450 million.
Markets are closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.21 percent from 2.19 percent Thursday, while the 30-year slipped to 2.98 percent from 2.99 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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