* First-quarter GDP misses forecast
* Amazon, Expedia surge after results
* Ford, Procter & Gamble drop after earns
* S&P; on track for best week in month
* Indexes up: Dow 0.3 pct, S&P; 0.2 pct, Nasdaq 0.5 pct
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose modestly on
Friday, putting equities on track for a fourth day of gains as
more strong earnings partially offset a weaker-than-expected
reading on economic growth.
Both Amazon.com Inc and Expedia Inc
reported profits that topped consensus estimates. Expedia surged
27 percent to $41.50 and was the top percentage gainer on the
S&P; 500, followed by Amazon, which climbed 15.3 percent to
$225.98.
With 287 S&P; 500 companies reporting, about 73 percent have
topped expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Economic data has been mixed in recent days, a trend that
was reflected in the latest report. First-quarter gross domestic
product expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate, below the
forecast of 2.5 percent.
“Earnings have been spectacular, and that’s a shot in the
arm to investors, but GDP is acting as a counterweight,” said
David Dietze, president and chief investment strategist at
Summit, New Jersey-based Point View Wealth Management.
“When coupled with other weak data, the ghost of a slowdown
starts to loom and that’s causing investors to pause a little
despite better-than-expected results from blue chips like
Amazon.”
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 33.72 points,
or 0.26 percent, at 13,238.34. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index
was up 2.70 points, or 0.19 percent, at 1,402.68. The
Nasdaq Composite Index put on 15.20 points, or 0.50
percent, at 3,065.81.
The S&P; 500 and Nasdaq were both on track for their best
weeks in a month. A blowout quarter from Apple Inc gave
the Nasdaq its best day of the year earlier this week.
The moves in the indexes have wiped out much of April’s
losses. After three days of gains, the S&P; is well above its
50-day moving average.
Procter & Gamble Co cut its full-year profit view and
posted lower earnings. Shares fell 3.5 percent to $64.55, the
biggest percentage decliner on the Dow.
Starbucks Corp fell 5.1 percent to $57.57 and was
one of the biggest percentage decliners on the Nasdaq 100
as weakness in Europe pressured global sales.
Earnings at both Chevron Corp and Merck & Co Inc
came in slightly above estimates. Merck shares dipped
0.1 percent at $38.42 as revenue trailed the Wall Street view,
while Chevron was 0.1 percent lower at $106.17.
Ford Motor Co’s results surpassed expectations as its
North American unit reported the best profit in at least 12
years. But the stock fell 1.6 percent to $11.67 after executives
said it lost U.S. market share in April.
U.S. consumer sentiment was little changed in April, as
Americans expected the economy to slowly improve though they
were less cheery about the state of their own finances, a survey
showed.
Earlier in the week, reports showed jobless claims data
remained above levels from earlier this year, while demand for
long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods tumbled by the most in
three years in March.
