NEW YORK, May 26 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks traded mixed on Friday, as investors were digesting the latest economic data from the country.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 5.97 points, or 0.03 percent, to 21,076.98. The S&P 500 rose 0.59 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,415.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 3.74 points, or 0.06 percent, to 6,209.00.
U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2017, according to the “second” estimate released by the Commerce Department.
The latest reading was higher than the “advance” estimate of a 0.7-percent gain issued last month but still way below the 2.1-percent real GDP growth in the fourth quarter.
Another report by the department showed U.S. durable goods orders fell 0.7 percent in April after rising 2.3 percent in March, missing market expectations. The downturn was also the first since durable goods orders fell 4.6 percent in November.
Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in the U.S. was virtually unchanged in May, according to revised data released by the University of Michigan on Friday.
The University of Michigan said the consumer sentiment index for May was downwardly revised to 97.1 from a preliminary reading of 97.7. The May reading is slightly higher than the final April reading of 97.0 but below market expectations.
The U.S. equity market will be closed on Monday due to Memorial Day, which could lead to subdued trading volumes.
