The NASDAQ tumbled on Friday following disappointing earnings from Google parent Alphabet Inc and from Microsoft Corp, but higher oil prices helped lift the Dow and S&P 500.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 21.23 points (0.12 percent) to 18,003.75.
The broad-based S&P 500 was essentially flat at 2,091.58, up 0.1 of a point, while the tech-rich NASDAQ Composite Index sank 39.66 (0.8 percent) to 4,906.23.
Alphabet shares lost 5.3 percent after reporting earnings per share that lagged analyst expectations, while Microsoft tumbled 7.2 percent as it reported a 25 percent plunge in quarterly profits to US$3.8 billion.
However, oil prices pushed higher, lifting Dow members ExxonMobil Corp and Chevron Corp by 0.9 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.
“The market is basically trying to keep its head above water, but there are a lot of cross-currents,” First Standard Financial chief market economist Peter Cardillo said. “There’s a ray of hope because oil is going up, and that could be a sign the economy is going to improve.”
American Airlines Inc fell 4.5 percent as executives warned of toughening competition, projecting a decline of between 6 and 8 percent in the second quarter in closely watched passenger unit revenues.
General Electric Co dipped 0.7 percent as it reported a loss of US$98 million in the first quarter and highlighted the drag from its oil and gas business. Industrial profits were US$3.3 billion, down 6.9 percent.
Caterpillar Inc shed 0.4 percent after it trimmed its sales and revenue forecast for the year as the global mining slump and a downturn in the construction business hit results.
First-quarter net income came in at US$271 million, down from US$1.25 billion in the year-ago period.
Other companies that reported earnings included Starbucks Corp, which fell 4.9 percent, Visa Inc, which lost 2.1 percent and Honeywell International Inc, which shed 0.7 percent.
In non-earnings news, Perrigo Co dropped 5.7 percent following reports that Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc is close to hiring Perrigo chief executive Joseph Papa to replace outgoing Valeant chief executive Michael Pearson. Valeant rose 7.9 percent.
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