WASHINGTON: The major U.S. stock indexes drifted between small gains and losses in late-afternoon trading Friday. Phone and health care companies were the biggest laggards, while technology and consumer goods stocks were holding on to slight gains. KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 1 point to 18,161 as of 3 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up less than 1 point to 2,141. The Nasdaq composite index gained 14 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,256.
THE QUOTE: Concerns about the implications of a rising dollar, a possible interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve this year and weak earnings are weighing on the market, said Krishna Memani, chief investment officer at OppenheimerFunds. “Today is a pretty lackluster day,” Memani said. “The market is not taking a significant turn in a negative way, but it doesn’t really see any positive impetus in the near term to go higher.”
MERGER BUZZ: Shares in some phone companies were moving lower. Verizon shed 84 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $48.31. AT&T fell 3.2 percent following reports that the company was considering a deal to acquire the media conglomerate Time Warner. AT&T slid $1.25 to $37.40.
GE SLUMPS: General Electric fell 0.7 percent after the company said its latest quarterly sales fell more than anticipated due to weaker results from its lighting and transportation businesses. The industrial conglomerate also trimmed its revenue forecast for the year. The stock lost 21 cents to $28.86. UGLY STREAK: Skechers U.S.A. slumped 17.1 percent after the footwear maker reported disappointing results for the second quarter in a row. The stock fell $3.91 to $19.03.
IN A SLIDE: Several oil and gas companies were trading lower. Southwestern Energy lost 91 cents, or 7.2 percent, to $11.74. The company was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500. HAPPY MEAL: McDonald’s rose 3.3 percent after the world’s biggest hamburger chain served up earnings and revenue that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. The stock added $3.63 to $114.20.
STRATEGY PAYS OFF: Microsoft climbed 4.6 percent a day after the software giant posted a surprisingly high profit for its fiscal first quarter. The results help validate the company’s increased focus on software and online services. The stock gained $2.65 to $59.90. That’s above Microsoft’s all-time closing high of $59.56 set in December 1999.
TOBACCO DEAL: Shares in Reynolds American jumped 14.5 percent after London-based British American Tobacco offered to buy out the 57.8 percent stake in Reynolds that it doesn’t already own. Reynolds was evaluating the offer, which analysts say would help both sides overcome a decline in smoking rates in their home markets and competition from electronic cigarettes. Reynolds was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500, climbing $6.82 to $53.99.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: World stock markets drifted mostly lower as investors increasingly factored in the likelihood of a U.S. interest rate increase this year. Germany’s DAX rose 0.1 percent, while France’s CAC 40 fell 0.1 percent lower. Britain’s FTSE 100 also slipped 0.1 percent. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.3 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.4 percent. Hong Kong’s stock market was closed due to a typhoon.
