S & P and Nasdaq: Record closing of GDP and boosting profits

New York (Reuters) – A remarkable balance sheet on the US economy allowed the benchmark S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices to close on Friday at a record high, closing a week of gains for stocks mostly driven by solid corporate earnings .

While Intel Corp was the main drag in the aftermath of the announcement, Amazon.com's results provided the best momentum and Walt Disney also offered support, as it took advantage of a strong presence at box office.

After staying almost flat for most of the day, the S & P, Nasdaq and Dow gained ground in the last hour of trading to record their second record for the week. The peak of the day for the S & P was lower than its intraday record.

Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, NJ, said the GDP was positive for the market and investors were pleased with the earnings despite some negative surprises.

"There is a lot of impulse to buy. And with the idea that new highs are likely, optimism persists, "said Meckler, adding that the current equity rally had" resulted in more believers in the process and he was self-directed " .

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 81.25 points, or 0.31%, to 26,543.33, the S & P 500 by 13.71 points, or 0.47%, to 2,939.88 and the Nasdaq Composite added 27.72 points, or 0.34%, to 8,146.40.

For the week, the S & P rose 1.2%, the Dow lost 0.06% and the Nasdaq, 1.86%.

After a late sell-off in 2018, equities rallied this year, thanks largely to a more accommodative stance from the Federal Reserve and hopes for a US-China commercial resolution.

Before the market opened, data from the US Department of Commerce showed that gross domestic product was growing faster than expected due to high inventories, while consumer and business spending was slowing sharply and investment in the construction of housing contracted for a fifth consecutive quarter.

"The economy is not going up the cliff. Some numbers were a little blurry but anything that could have gone wrong this week was not, "said Brian Battle, Trading Operations Manager at Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago.

"The season of the results is mixed, but the result is positive," said Battle. "The theater is now moving from the results season to the Fed meeting next week."

The meeting of the US Federal Reserve is scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The consumer discretionary sector, which advanced 0.9%, was Friday's most important driver for S & P.

Amazon.com Inc., which recorded a 2.5% gain after doubling the e-business giant's quarterly profits, surpassed Wall Street's estimates, although its Q2 outlook is below expectations.

In addition, Ford Motor Co jumped 10.7% and was the biggest gain in percentage of the S & P index after the automaker had published quarterly results above expectations, mainly because of strong sales of pickup trucks in its main market, the United States.

S & P's technology index was the main drag on the benchmark, down 0.4%.

Intel fell 8.99% after lowering its revenue forecast for the full year and missed the sales estimate of its key data center activities in its quarterly report released Thursday night.

Among the 11 main sectors of the S & P 500, energy was the main loser with a drop of 1.2%, the price of oil fell by more than 3% after US President Donald Trump has again lobbied the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for it to increase its crude output. [O/R]

In addition, the shares of oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp fell 2% after its quarterly profit missed its estimates.

Walt Disney Co rose 1.95% after Marvel Studios' superhero show, "Avengers: Endgame", which recorded a record $ 60 million in US and Canadian box office during its debut in the night from Thursday to Thursday.

Increasing issues outnumbered NYSE declines with a ratio of 2.16 to 1; on the Nasdaq, a ratio of 2.11 to 1 favored advances.

The S & P 500 recorded 39 new highs over 52 weeks and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 72 new highs and 39 new lows.

The volume of US trade amounted to 6.45 billion shares, against 6.64 billion on average for the last 20 trading days.