US stocks were drifting on Friday as investors assessed economic data and corporate earnings.
At 10:16 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 101.48 points, or 0.24per cent, to 44,459.53, the S&P 500 lost 3.62 points, or 0.06per cent, to 6,115.09 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 17.56 points, or 0.09per cent, to 20,034.29.
At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31.3 points, or 0.07per cent, to 44,533.75. The S&P 500 rose 2.7 points, or 0.04per cent, to 6,121.43, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 33.4 points, or 0.17per cent, to 20,087.105.
A survey report by S&P Global showed that business activity slowed to a ninth-month low in January amid rising price pressures, but companies reported higher hiring. Investors’ focus is on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting next week.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.65per cent.
Gainers amd losers
Boeing stock lost 0.5per cent after the planemaker warned of a fourth quarter loss of about $4 billion.
American Express shares fell 2.7per cent despite the companyreported 12per cent jump in fourth quarter profit.
Verizon stock rose 0.8per cent after the firm reported higher-than-expected quarterly subscriber additions.
Texas Instruments stock shed 6.2per cent despite the companyreported profit for the December quarter.
Crude oil
Oil prices edged up on Friday after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping plans to boost US production and demanded that OPEC move to lower crude prices.
Brent crude futures gained 59 cents, or 0.8per cent, to $78.88 a barrel by 1411 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 49 cents, or 0.7per cent, at $75.11.
Bullion
Gold prices rose nearly 1% on Friday, steered by Trump’s calls to lower interest rates and uncertainty surrounding his trade policies.
Spot gold rose 0.9per cent to $2,776.97 per ounce by 1210 GMT and was up 2.8per cent for the week. US gold futures for February delivery rose 0.7per cent to $2,783.80 per ounce. Spot silver was up 1.4per cent at $30.88 per ounce.
