US open: Mixed trading at the bell as GDP figures do little to sway investors

Wall Sreet trading began on a mixed note at the open on Friday as investors cheered solid earnings from Amazon and eyed the release of the latest gross domestic product figures.

As of 1540 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.09% higher at 25,549.87, while the S&P 500 was down 0.07% to 2,835.36 and the Nasdaq was trading 0.23% weaker at 7,833.66.

Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx, said, "The Dow Jones opened around 0.1% higher, tickling 25,550, while the dollar shed 0.1% against both the euro and the pound."

In corporate news, Amazon rose 2.29% at the open after reporting a record profit of $2.5bn for the second quarter thanks to a solid performance from its non-retail divisions.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Last night's Amazon numbers have tempered some of the pessimism behind the disappointments from Facebook and Netflix's recent numbers. Amazon beat expectations on profit and should see yesterday’s 3% decline in the share price reversed when it reopens later today."

Intel Corp dropped 8.02% despite the chip giant's quarterly revenue and earnings beat expectations, while Starbucks shares ticked ahead 0.76% after its mostly in-line numbers late on Thursday.

Twitter tumbled 16.51%, wiping roughly $5bn off its market value and marking the second day in a row the Nasdaq had been dragged down by a social media stock, after the firm revealed it had lost 1m losers in its last quarter.

Chevron shares ticked ahead 0.31% despite missing on earnings and revenues, while Exxon Mobil fell 3% after the oil major reported a big miss on earnings.

Aside from earnings, the advance GDP reading for the second quarter was a big focus.

US economic growth accelerated to an annual rate of 4.1% during the second quarter, compared with a revised 2.2% in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

The second quarter gain, the fastest rate of growth in almost four years, fell just short of the 4.2% rate predicted by economists.

The trade sector boosted GDP, however, this was offset by a downturn in inventory investment.

Real final sales for domestic purchasers, excluding trade and inventories, rose 3.9% after a 1.9% gain in the prior quarter.

"Coming in at 4.1% at the annualised rate, America’s second-quarter growth figure was actually a smidge below the forecast 4.2%. Not that it matters too much; it’s still the best reading since the 5.2% posted in Q3 2014," said Campbell.

Trump said on Thursday that the figures will be "terrific" and that he would be happy with US economic growth of around 4% or more.

"Somebody actually predicted today, 5.3. I don't think that's going to happen - 5.3. If it has a 4 in front of it, we're happy. If it has like a 3 but it's a 3.8, 3.9, 3.7, we're OK," the president said in a speech about trade in Illinois.

On the other hand, consumer sentiment fell in July, according to the University of Michigan.

The index fell to 97.9 from 98.2, as both the assessment of current economic conditions and expectations fell.

However, the reading did beat consensus expectations of a 97.3 reading.

"Despite the expectation of higher inflation and higher interest rates during the year ahead, consumers have kept their confidence at high levels due to favorable job and income prospects," the University of Michigan said.