Stocks swung on either side of the flatline in early trading Friday morning as investors digested the final slate of corporate earnings heading into the weekend.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.03%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was down 17 points, or 0.05%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.15%.
All three major averages are on track to close the week lower.
The onslaught of earnings slowed slightly on Friday morning, with Procter & Gamble (PG) reporting core consumers. Shares of Procter & Gamble rose nearly 3% as the company raised its forecast for organic sales growth for 2023 to 6% from previous guidance of 4% to 5%.
P&G Chairman and CEO John Mueller told Yahoo Finance that his company sees no signs of a downturn in its business.
“We see anything, a more careful use of the product they bought,” Mueller said. “So they might use half a sheet of Bounty paper towel instead of a whole sheet.”
Amazon (AMZN) stock rose 2% after that a report On Thursday afternoon, Whole Foods plans to cut several hundred corporate jobs as part of the reorganization.
Oil futures rose slightly on Friday with West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) up more than 1% in early trade. Brent crude prices remained just under $82 a barrel.
Stocks closed lower on Thursday amid weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings at Tesla (TSLA), mixed earnings data from across sectors, and lower-than-expected housing and jobs data.
Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester told Yahoo Finance on Thursday that interest rates should rise to more than 5% given stubborn inflation. The comments came two days before Fed members entered a blackout period ahead of the upcoming FOMC meeting on May 2.
Markets are currently pricing in an 84% chance of a 25 basis point rate hike at the next FOMC meeting, According to data from the Continuing Medical Education Group.
“While upside odds have increased since Friday last week, we believe the softness of the data this week argues more for a dovish upswing,” research chief Tom Lee wrote in a note to clients on Friday.
The S&P Global Manufacturing Price Index in the US came out hotter than economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted. The US services PMI hit a 12-month high of 53.7, while the US manufacturing PMI hit a six-month high of 50.4. Economists have estimated the US services PMI at . 51.5 and the manufacturing PMI at 49, according to Bloomberg data.
“Output rose at the strongest pace in nearly a year as strong demand conditions, improving supply, and a sharp increase in new orders supported expansion,” S&P Global wrote in the statement. “Strong growth in activity was observed across the manufacturing and service sectors.”
Josh is Yahoo Finance Correspondent. Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including the events that move stocks
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