US stocks close mixed on earnings reports, data

US stocks ended mixed on Friday as investors were digesting a string of earnings reports and key economic data from the country.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 11.15 points, or 0.05 percent, to 24,311.19. The S&P 500 climbed 2.97 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 2,669.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.12 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 7,119.80, Xinhua reported.

US e-commerce giant Amazon reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that way above market expectations after the closing bell on Thursday. Shares of the company surged 3.6 per cent in market closing on Friday.

Microsoft also posted better-than-forecast earnings, sending its stock 1.65 percent higher.

So far, the earnings season has been overall positive. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported, 79.4 per cent have posted better-than-forecast earnings, according to the latest data from US research firm FactSet.

US gross domestic product (GDP) increased 2.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, beating market consensus of a 2-per cent gain, but lower than the 2.9-per cent growth rate in the previous quarter, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the final reading of US Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 98.8 in April, above market estimates, according to a survey released by the University of Michigan on Friday.

--IANS

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