Publications
Partners
New York - US stocks opened slightly lower on Friday after a revision of official data showed the US economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.7% in the first quarter of the year.
The figures came in roughly as expected, showing a heavy drag from trade due to the West Coast ports slowdown, but consumer spending also was lower than originally thought.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 45.78 points (0.25%) to 18 080.34.
Still alive
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 3.45 points (0.16%) at 2 117.34, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 4.53 (0.09%) at 5 093.44.
The key indices remained close to their record highs, suggesting, as Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com said, that "there is a wait-and-see disposition that is kind of permeating everything."
Market action focused on Intel and Altera after a media report said Intel's bid for its chip-making rival is still alive. In April it was believed Altera rejected an offer reported as just above $50 a share.
Altera shares surged 4.3% to $48.97, while Intel was up 1.2% at $34.43.
Yields moved inversely
Speculation on that deal came after Thursday's announcement that telecommunications chip specialist Broadcom would be acquired by Singapore-based Avago Technologies for $37bn.
Among Dow blue chips, aside from Intel, McDonald's led gainers with a 0.5% rise, while Procter & Gamble fell 0.9% and General Electric and Boeing were both off 0.8%.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.11% from 2.13% on Thursday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.86% from 2.89%. Bond prices and yields moved inversely.
