Tech, energy shares in stock market tug of war
It was a mixed bag for U.S. stocks Friday, as a rough day for energy shares weighed on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked 11.15 points lower, or 0.05%, to 24,311.19. The S&P 500 rose 2.97 points, or 0.1%, to 2,669.91. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.12 points, or 0.02%, at 7,119.80.
The energy sector was the top laggard in the S&P, posting a loss of 1.2% on the day. The selloff was driven by Exxon Mobil. The largest U.S. oil company missed estimates for first-quarter earnings on weaker results in its refining business. Exxon, a Dow member, fell 3.7%.
Winners in Friday’s session included Amazon and Microsoft, which were boosted by better-than-expected earnings. Amazon, which touched all-time intraday highs, rallied 3.6% to become the second-largest company by market value.
Apple shares pulled back 1.2% amid ongoing investor concerns that the company will report disappointing iPhone X sales next week.
Cable operator Charter Communications dropped almost 12% after reporting subscriber losses.
For the week, all three major indexes recorded modest declines. The Dow was down roughly 0.6%, the S&P 500 fell 0.01% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.4%.
The latest batch of economic data showed a slight decrease in consumer confidence, while the latest U.S. GDP data included a reduction in consumer spending.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 181.28 | -2.04 | -1.11% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 411.84 | -2.74 | -0.66% |
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORP. | 118.65 | -0.01 | -0.01% |
According to the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy expanded at a 2.3% annual pace in the first quarter of 2018, somewhat slower than in the prior three quarters, but better than the 2% economists polled by Reuters expected.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence survey showed confidence retreated in April, but remained relatively high, at 98.8, compared with March’s 101.4.