Tras la apertura, el índice DJIA perdía 13,61 puntos hasta 11.934,09, mientras que el Nasdaq se descontaba 1,28 puntos hasta 2.344,90 y el S&P 500 bajaba ligeramente hasta 1.361,94.
NUEVA YORK (AFX-España) - La bolsa estadounidense arrancó en negativo ya que los resultados de General Electric no pudieron compensar los datos de precios de importación y ventas minoristas peores de lo previsto publicados antes de la apertura, según agentes.
General Electric anunció hoy que su beneficio neto creció un 6% en el tercer trimestre gracias al aumento de los pedidos.
Sin embargo, también se conoció que los precios de productos de importación en Estados Unidos bajaron un 2,1% en septiembre, frente a la previsión de los analistas era de una caída del 0,9%.
Por su parte las ventas minoristas registraron en septiembre un retroceso del 0,4% con respecto al mes anterior, mientras que los analistas consultados anticipaban un repunte del 0,2%.
En breve se conocerán también los inventarios empresariales de agosto y la confianza del consumidor de Michigan.
NEW YORK (AFX) - Stocks are down Friday on General Electric's third-quarter earnings and key retail-sales data, with Centex in focus after cutting its earnings forecast.
General Electric Co. said Friday its third-quarter profit rose 6 percent with strong orders across the company.
In the opening minutes, the Dow Jones industrials fell 13.61 points to 11,934.09, the S&P 500 eased .89 of a point to 1,361.94, and the Nasdaq lost 1.28 points to 2,344.90.
U.S. stocks rallied Thursday on stronger-than-expected earnings from McDonald's Corp. among others and a favorable Federal Reserve Beige Book survey, which showed few signs of increased price pressure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 95.57 points at a record 11,947.70.
Retail-sales data will be in focus Friday. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales declined by 0.4 percent last month as sales at gasoline service stations plunged by 9.3 percent, the biggest drop on record.
Also set for release Friday are the September import price index and a measure of consumer sentiment for October.
The dollar held steady against the euro and the Japanese yen.
Crude-oil prices broke back through $58 a barrel after data on Thursday showed U.S. distillate inventories had fallen for the first time in nine weeks. The November light crude contract was recently up 40 cents to $58.26 a barrel in electronic trading.
Home builder Centex Corp. said late Thursday that it sees second-quarter earnings from continuing operations of 65 cents to 75 cents a share, compared with its July view of $1.40. It said net sales tumbled 28 percent from last year.
La-Z-Boy after Thursday's close cut its fiscal second-quarter earnings forecast to a range of a penny to 4 cents a share from its previous view of 11 cents to 15 cents a share because of weaker sales.
Pawnshop operator EZCorp raised its fourth-quarter earnings forecast to a range of 61 cents to 64 cents a share. EZ Corp. previously forecast earnings of 43 cents to 46 cents a share. Additionally, it sees 2006 per-share earnings of $2.05 to $2.08 and 2007 per-share earnings of $2.40 to $2.45, ahead of Wall Street's view.
Also late Thursday, Aetna said it will lay off 650 staff, or about 2 percent of its total workforce, in a move to cut administrative costs.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
afxmadrid@afxnews.com
rt/cl
COPYRIGHT
Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
