The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index managed a small gain, enough for the index to set another record high. It edged up 2.72 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,692.09. It rose 0.7 percent for the week.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 4.80 points on Friday, or 0.03 percent, to 15,543.74, held back by losses in Microsoft, Google and I.B.M.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 23.67 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,587.61. It was the only major index to lose ground for the week.
Microsoft plunged 11 percent after writing off $900 million on its tablet computer.
Slightly more stocks rose than fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
Stocks around the world have had a solid week, especially after the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, indicated that the central bank’s monetary stimulus may remain in place for longer than many in the markets had been predicting.
As a result, investors were looking for a reason to book some profits ahead of the weekend and disappointing earnings figures from Google and Microsoft gave them that opportunity, despite a solid report from General Electric.
Microsoft booked a large write-off to its Surface RT business after it slashed prices on the tablets to stimulate demand this week. Its quarterly earnings results also showed that Windows 8, an operating system designed to bridge the divide between PCs and tablets, has been so poorly received that it contributed to a revenue drop in the operating system software unit. Microsoft shares were down 11.4 percent.
Google’s quarterly report showed its average ad rate fell from the previous year for the seventh consecutive quarter. In an unexpected turn, the decline deepened for the first time in a year. Shares were down 1.5 percent.
“Results from technology companies have generally been poor with eBay and Intel also missing expectations,” said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at GFT Markets. “Over all, however, most of the S.P. 500 companies who have reported their results have beaten earnings expectations; though, one has to be wary of jumping to conclusions because it is merely early days still.”
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of British shares closed Friday barely changed on the day, off 0.04 percent at 6,630 points, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.07 percent to 8,331. The CAC 40 in France was down 0.06 percent at 3,925 points.
Stock markets, particularly in the United States, have had a bumper month following a bout of jitters prompted by uncertainty over when the Fed will start reducing its monetary stimulus.
The Fed has been buying $85 billion of financial assets a month in the hope of reducing long-term borrowing rates and shore up the U.S. economy. Bernanke has said that the so-called tapering will begin when a number of economic indicators point to a clear recovery path. The prospect that it may remain for longer has been greeted positively by investors who have grown used to the stimulus money floating around markets.
“Despite the weakness in stocks this morning, global equities are still on track to post a fourth week of gains, helping to underpin the generally bullish feeling in the market of late,” said David White, a trader at Spreadex.
Earlier in Asia, markets closed mostly lower following the tech reports in the United States and amid worries over the Chinese and Japanese economies, the world’s number 2 and 3.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.5 percent to 14,589.91 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added just 0.1 percent to 21,362.42. Seoul’s Kospi wavered between gains and losses, finishing 0.2 percent down at 1,871.41. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 1.5 percent to 1,992.65.
In currency markets, trading was steady with the euro up 0.26 percent at $1.3139 while the dollar was down 0.2 percent at 100.32 yen.
In the oil markets, the price of benchmark New York crude was 56 cents higher at $108.36 a barrel.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: July 19, 2013
Because of an editing error, a headline on an earlier version of this article misstated the outcome of Friday’s Wall Street trading. The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index, a broad measure of the market, ended with a slight gain; it is not the case that markets closed lower.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss