The US markets ended the lackluster day of trade slightly in green, as traders digested a mixed batch of earnings news from several big-name companies. Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates may also have kept traders on the sidelines. Traders took some support from the release of a Commerce Department report showing stronger than expected economic growth in the first quarter. The report showed GDP growth slowed to 2.3 percent in the first quarter from 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, although the increase still exceeded economist estimates for 2.0 percent growth. The slowdown in GDP growth came as consumer spending rose by just 1.1 percent in the first quarter compared to the 4.0 percent jump seen in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, a reading on core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, showed that the pace of price growth surged up to 2.5 percent in the first quarter from 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter.
A separate report from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the deteriorated by less than initially estimated in the month of April. The report said the consumer sentiment index for April was upwardly revised to 98.8 from the preliminary reading of 97.8. The upwardly revised reading exceeded economist estimates of 98.0 but still came in below the final March reading of 101.4.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 11.15 points or 0.05 percent to 24,311.19, however the Nasdaq gained 1.12 points or 0.02 percent to 7,119.80 and the S&P 500 was up by 2.97 points or 0.11 percent to 2,669.91.
