By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
US indexes drift in early trading; GE soars on deal news
Placeholder Image

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are little changed in early trading on Friday as investor pore over the latest corporate earnings. GE jumped after announcing plans to get out of the lending business.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up four points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,095 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 20 points, or 0.1 percent, 17,977, while the Nasdaq composite rose four points, less than 0.1 percent, to 4,979.

EUROPE: Germany's DAX index added 1.4 percent, and France's CAC 40 gained 0.4 percent. A broader index of European shares, the Stoxx 600, hit a record high for the second day running, gaining 0.6 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.6 percent.

GEE: General Electric soared 6 percent, the most in the Dow, after the company said it would sell most of its lending arm and shift its focus back to its on its industrial business. GE's stock jumped $2.08 to $27.86.

EARNINGS: AngioDynamics sank 10 percent after the medical device maker posted dissipating quarterly results and lowered its earnings expectations for the year. The company's stock dropped $1.62 to $16.63.

CHINA: Earlier, sentiment was supported by Chinese data showing consumer inflation remained at 1.4 percent in March, well below the government's official target. That fueled expectations the central bank might launch new stimulus to fend off deflation. Low inflation is a boon to consumers but a bout of potentially damaging deflation could add to fears about the Chinese growth outlook.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index added 2 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.2 percent. Sydney's S&P ASX 200 gained 0.6 percent, and Singapore, Manila and New Zealand also rose. India's Sensex shed 0.3 percent.

NIKKEI RECORD: Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.2 percent after briefly rising above 20,000 for the first since April 2000 during morning trading. The gains were based on expectations for Japan's economic recovery and brisk corporate earnings, following aggressive monetary stimulus.

CRUDE: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 42 cents to $51.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

BONDS, DOLLAR: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.93 percent. The dollar edged down to 120.44 yen from 120.57 yen while the euro fell to $1.0583 from $1.0662.