Stocks slipped Friday morning as investors welcomed better-than-expected earnings from Citigroup and General Electric, and pulled back from a six-week advance.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 30 points, or 0.3% almost 90 minutes into the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 3 points, or 0.4%. Both had ended the previous session at more than two-month highs.
The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 15 points, or 0.9%, after ending the previous session at a more than five-month high.
Stocks, as represented by the S&P 500, have gained more than 26% in the past six weeks, on bets that the economy is closer to stabilizing. The gains followed a selloff that left the S&P 500 at a 12-1/2 year low. A rash of better-than-expected profit reports has helped sentiment this week.
Quarterly results: Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) reported a quarterly profit Friday morning, due to strength in its investment banking division. But after paying out preferred dividends, results amounted to a per-share loss of 18 cents. Nonetheless, that was smaller than the 34-cent per share loss analysts expected. Shares fell 8%.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) both reported weaker quarterly profit that beat estimates earlier this week. Last week, Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) forecast that it would report a $3 billion profit.
Fellow Dow component General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) reported weaker quarterly earnings that beat estimates on weaker quarterly sales that missed forecasts. Weakness in the company's finance unit countered mixed results at other divisions. Shares were little changed.
After the close, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) posted quarterly earnings that rose from a year ago and topped estimates on revenue that rose from a year ago but was shy of forecasts. Shares rose 1% Friday morning.
Economy: The April consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan rose to 61.9 from 57.3 in March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought the index would rise to 58.5.
Bonds: Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 2.87% from 2.83% Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
0:00 /02:39Life in the pits
Other markets: In global trading, Asian markets ended higher. European markets rallied in afternoon trading.
In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and fell against the yen.
U.S. light crude oil for May delivery rose 29 cents to $50.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for June delivery fell $11.40 to $868.40 an ounce.
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