(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - Australia) U.S. equity markets were lower Friday afternoon as investors focused on ongoing worries in Europe.
As at 2.35pm EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.53% at 12,464.21, the S&P 500 was up 0.15% at 1,318.76 and the NASDAQ was 0.03% lower at 2,838.44.
Investors were muted in their response to the reported increase in US consumer confidence.
Data showed the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final May consumer sentiment index rose to 79.3 from 77.8 in the preliminary report earlier this month. It rose to the highest level since October 2007.
On Friday, Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders issued a new warning for Greece, saying it would be a "grave professional error" if central banks and companies were not prepared for Greece to leave the eurozone.
French banks, among the lenders most vulnerable to the situation in Greece, have reportedly increased efforts to solidify contingency plans in the event that Greece exits the eurozone.
In Spain, shares of Bankia, the nation's fourth-largest bank, were halted as its board prepares a request for recapitalization funds from Spain's central bank. Investors were also rattled by a report that certain Spanish municipalities are struggling to raise money.
In corporate news, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has told its financial advisers that it will adjust prices on a "few thousand" Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) trades and retail limit orders wouldn't be filled at $43 per share or higher, according to media sources. A limit order covers the sale or purchase of stock at a specific price.
The Wall Street bank was the lead issuer in the social network's botched IPO last week, which raised $16 billion, the largest tech-sector IPO on record.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook has voluntarily given up dividend income on restricted stock units, a move that will cost him about $75 million.
According to an SEC filing, Cook has asked to be excluded from a recently-instituted program which allows workers to accumulate dividends on restricted units that are still in the vesting process.
Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) said late Thursday that it was being sued by U.S. broadcasters over its advert-skipping AutoHop feature. The cable and satellite company is being sued by NBC Universal, News Corp's (NASDAQ:NWSA) Fox Broadcasting and CBS (NYSE:CBS). Dish has countersued, asking a judge to rule that the feature does not violate the law.
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) late Thursday put 504,000 acres in the DJ Basin in Wyoming and Colorado up for sale, as the U.S. energy company scrambles to raise cash to close a funding shortfall.
Chesapeake, which earlier this month arranged a pricey $4 billion loan from its investment bankers to tide it over, has said it will sell as much as $11 billion in assets this year to plug its shortfall.
Commodities
On the NYMEX, crude futures for July delivery rose 39 cents to $91.04 a barrel while gold futures for June delivery rose $7.80 to $1,565.30 an ounce.
Europe
European stocks ended modestly higher with the DAX and CAC 40 both rising 0.4% while the FTSE 100 ended little changed.
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