Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, as markets awaited the release of U.S. consumer sentiment data later in the trading session, after a report on U.S. personal spending missed market expectations.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 slid 0.27%, the S&P 500 fell 0.14%, while the NASDAQ Composite edged down 0.13%.
Data showed that personal spending in the U.S. fell 0.1% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% rise, after a 1% increase in March, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.9% gain.
U.S. core ersonal consumption expenditures, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2% in April, in line with expectations, after a 0.2% increase the previous month.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) saw shares tumble 1.62% following news Christopher Fry stepped down as the microblogging service’s head of engineering, shifting to an advisory role.
Also in the tech sector, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) slipped 0.27% as the company's decision earlier in the week to reveal its lack of personnel diversity reportedly added pressure on other Silicon Valley companies to increase the number of women and minorities among technology workers.
On Wednesday, Google said that women make up 30% of employees and that 91% of its staff are either white or Asian.
Among auto stocks, General Motors (NYSE:GM) declined 0.38% after saying it wants a New York court to handle lawsuits arising from its ignition defect recall. According to lawyers for car owners, deaths caused by the flaw excee the automaker’s count of 13.
Elsewhere, shares in Express (NYSE:EXPR) dove 11.67% after the retail chain cut its annual forecast and announced plans to close 50 stores over the next three years.
On the upside, OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ:OVTI) surged 9.68% after projecting quarterly earnings would rise more than analysts' estimates.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 eased 0.06%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.58%, Germany's DAX dipped 0.04%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.44%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.31%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.34%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release revised data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.