(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished mixed on Friday as investors preferred to remain cautious despite an improved outlook from Intel Corp.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36.43 points or 0.38% to finish at 9,544.20. The S&P 500 dropped 2.05 points or 0.20% to end at 1,028.93. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.04 points or 0.05% to 2,028.77.
A release by Commerce Department showed that US consumer spending, which accounts for nearly two third of economy, increased 0.2% in July. Personal income remained unchanged in July. Economists expected consumer spending to rise 0.2% and personal income to increase 0.1% in July.
The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its final index of confidence for August fell to 65.7 from 66.0 in July.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:
INTC) jumped 80 cents or 4.11% to $20.27 after it boosted its third-quarter sales forecast Friday. The chipmaker now expects revenue of $9 billion, plus or minus $200 million. That compares with July's view of $8.1 billion to $8.9 billion. The revised estimate represents growth of 8.9% over the second quarter for Intel.
Shares of airplane maker Boeing (NYSE:
BA) lost 80 cents or 1.54% to $51.02.
Among financials, shares of JP Morgan (NYSE:
JPM) fell 52 cents or 1.20% to $42.93.Citi (NYSE:
C) rallied 18 cents or 3.56% to $5.23.AIG (NYSE:
AIG) surged $2.39 or 5% to $50.23. Freddie Mac (NYSE:
FRE) soared 7.14% while Fannie Mae (NYSE:
FNM) advanced 6.25%.
Merck & Co. (NYSE:
MRK) tumbled 54 cents or 1.64% to $32.33.
Early on Friday, Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:
TIF) said that its second-quarter plunged 30% to $56.8 million, or 46 cents per share, from $80.8 million, or 63 cents per share, in the prior year period. Revenue dropped 16% to $612.5 million. Shares soared $3.82 or 11.32% to $37.57.
China Unicom Ltd.
