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U.S. stocks mixed in subdued trade; Dow Jones down 0.33%

Published 04/19/2013, 09:50 AM
Updated 04/19/2013, 09:51 AM

Investing.com - U.S. stocks were mixed on Friday, after a string of mixed earnings reports, while concerns over the outlook for growth in the U.S. continued to linger.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.33%, the S&P 500 index edged up 0.15%, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.38%.

Investors remained cautious as Thursday's downbeat U.S. economic reports added to concerns over the outlook for global growth.

The Philly Fed manufacturing index fell to 1.3 in April from 2.0 last month, compared to expectations for a reading of 3.0, while the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week rose to a seasonally adjusted 352,000, compared to expectations for an increase to 350,000.

Among earnings, General Electric plummeted 3.66% after the company reported results that beat estimates, but said weakness in the company's European operations dimmed optimism.

Adding to losses, McDonald's tumbled 1.80% after the fast-food chain missed earnings expectations by a penny and said global comparable sales were down 1% for the quarter.

In the tech sector, IBM plunged 6.25% after posting a quarterly earnings miss. The company added that it will accelerate the pace of job cuts after sales of software and mainframe computers slowed.

In the financial sector, stocks were mostly lower. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America both dipped 0.01%, while Citigroup slipped 0.11%. JP Morgan overperformed on the other hand, adding 0.21%.

Pharmaceuticals were also in focus, as GlaxoSmithKline was accused of market abuse by the U.K.'s Office of Fair Trading, alleging that Glaxo paid generic firms to delay launching cheap copies of its top-selling anti-depressant Seroxat.

Nonetheless, shares in the company were up 0.18% at the open of the U.S. trading session.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals was also on the upside, soaring 56.97% after the drugmaker reported a successful trial for its experimental cystic fibrosis drug.

Elsewhere, Google shares rallied 1.54%, as the group's net revenue grew 23% in the first quarter, easing the effect of a sharp decline in its Motorola mobile phone division.

Separately, a federal judge reportedly threw out Viacom's lawsuit accusing Google of posting its programs on YouTube without permission, a year after a federal appeals court had revived the landmark copyright infringement case.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to higher. The EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.41%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.87%, Germany's DAX fell 0.25%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.20%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.33%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.73%.

Trading volumes were expected to remain light on Friday, as no major U.S. economic data was to be released.


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