US open: Stocks slide as traders digest earnings and data

US stocks were sitting lower on Friday, as traders digested corporate earnings and economic data.

At 1444 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31%, the S&P 500 shed 0.26% and the Nasdaq lost 0.20%.

Among corporate results, Chevron Corp.’s shares fell after reporting an adjusted profit in the first quarter that missed analysts’ estimates.

Exxon Mobile gained after the oil producer reported a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit.

Amazon rallied after the online retailer’s first-quarter profit surged past analysts’ expectations. Profit came in at $513m as sales rose 28% to $29.1bn.

On the macro-economic data front, US personal spending rose by a seasonally-adjusted 0.1% versus expectations for a 0.2% increase, according to the Commerce Department. February’s figure was revised up to a 0.2% gain from 0.1% previously.

Person income rose 0.4% in March after nudging up a downwardly-revised 0.1% the month before. Economists had been expecting a 0.3% increase.

The Chicago manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 50.4 in April from 53.6 in March, falling short of estimates for a reading of 53.6 but above the 50 level that separates an expansion from a contraction.

Consumer sentiment weakened in April, according to the final reading from the University of Michigan. The consumer sentiment index printed at 89.0 in April, down from the flash estimate of 89.7 and 91.0 in March. It was also weaker than the 95.9 reading in April of last year.

The current economic conditions index came in higher than the estimate of 105.5 at 106.7, compared to 105.6 in March and 107.0 in April 2015.

Still to come, the Baker Hughes US Rig Count will be released at 1800 BST.

Meanwhile, oil prices remained volatile with Brent crude down 0.10% to $48.09 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 0.34% to $46.19 per barrel at 1519 BST.

The dollar fell 0.09% against the pound, dropped 0.77% versus the euro and declined 0.70% versus the yen.