(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures turned red before the opening bell on Friday after a government release showed that real gross domestic product fell slower-than-expected at a 1.0% annualized rate in the second quarter.
At 8:36 am ET, the
S&P 500 fell 1.20 points to 981. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10 points to 9100. The
Nasdaq Composite retreated 2 points to 1604.75.
A release by the
Commerce Department showed that
real gross domestic product fell at a 1.0% annualized rate in the second quarter, compared with an average 5.5% drop in the previous quarter.
Economists expected GDP to decline 1.5 percent during the second quarter.
Early on Friday,
Chevron Corp. (NYSE:
) reported that its second-quarter net income fell by 71% to $1.75 billion, or 87 cents a share, from $5.98 billion, or $2.90 a share in the prior year period. The oil giant's sales and operating revenue plunged to $40 billion from $81 billion.
AutoNation Inc. (NYSE:
) announced that its second-quarter profit fell to $36.7 million, or 21 cents a share, compared to $51.8 million, or 29 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $2.6 billion from $3.7 billion.
Late on Thursday,
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:
) said that its third fiscal quarter profit declined 26% to $954 million, or 51 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.29 billion, or 66 cents a share, in the prior year's third quarter.Excluding items, the company said it would've earned 52 cents a share in the latest three months. Revenue fell 7% to $8.6 billion from $9.24 billion.
First Solar (NASDAQ:
) reported that second-quarter net income rose to $180.6 million or $2.11 a share, from $164.6 million or $1.99 per share in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $525.9 million from $267 million in the year-ago period.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:
) said late Thursday that its second-quarter loss attributable to the company widened to $175.9 million, or 34 cents a share, from a loss of $8.8 million, or 2 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, the company would have reported a profit of $8.8 million, or 1 cent a share. Revenue declined to $1.14 billion from $1.18 billion in the year-ago period.
Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE:
) reported a second-quarter net loss of $50 million, or 11 cents a share compared to a net loss of $109 million, or 25 cents a share, in the second quarter of 2008. Net operating income, which excludes net realized investment gains and losses, was $9 million, or 2 cents a share, in the latest period.
US stocks finished higher on Thursday as better than expected corporate earnings and weekly initial claims data boosted economic optimism.
European stocks were mixed in afternoon trade. At 12:52 pm London time, the UK FTSE rose 0.66 points or 0.01% to 4,632.27. The German DAX retreated 0.13% while French CAC increased 0.01%.
Asian stocks finished higher. The Nikkei 0225 rose 191.62 points or 1.89% to 10,356.83. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong gained 339.25 points or 1.68% to 20,573.33.
NYMEX crude oil for September delivery climbed as much as 21 cents to $67.15 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks mentioned here.
