While a report showing somewhat weaker than expected U.S. economic growth in the final three months of last year generated some negative sentiment before the start of trading on Friday, selling pressure has remained relatively subdued during the actual trading day.
The major averages have subsequently turned mixed on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing into positive territory. The Nasdaq is up 5.98 points or 0.2 percent at 2,811.26, while the Dow is down 78.79 points or 0.6 percent at 12,655.84 and the S&P 500 is down 3.45 points or 0.3 percent at 1,314.98.
Before the start of trading, the Commerce Department said GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the 1.8 percent growth seen in the third quarter.
Although GDP growth showed a notable acceleration compared to the previous quarter, economists had been expecting an increase of about 3.1 percent.
Economists were also disappointed that much of the GDP growth in the fourth quarter was due to a positive contribution from private inventory investment
Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said, "The much bigger than expected positive contribution from inventories in Q4 leaves us even more convinced that growth will slow again to a sub-2% rate in Q1 of this year."
However, an upbeat report on consumer sentiment in the month of January helped to offset the negative sentiment generated by the GDP report.
Reuters and the University of Michigan said their consumer sentiment index for January was upwardly revised to a reading of 75.0 from the mid-month reading of 74.0.
With the upward revision, which came as a surprise to economists, the consumer sentiment index is well above the final December reading of 69.9. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.
The upwardly revised reading also marks an eleven-month high for the consumer sentiment index, which is at its best level since coming in at 77.5 last February.
Among individual stocks, auto giant Ford (F) is down by 3.3 percent after reporting weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings due to weakness overseas.
Procter & Gamble (PG) is also trading lower after the consumer products giant reported a sharp drop in fourth quarter earnings and lowered its full-year earnings guidance.
Meanwhile, Honeywell (HON) is posting a modest gain after reporting fourth quarter earnings that came in just above analyst estimates on revenues that came in slightly below expectations.
Sector News
While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, significant weakness is visible among tobacco stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index is down by 1.8 percent after reaching a record intraday high in early trading.
Among tobacco stocks, Marlboro maker Altria Group (MO) is down by 1.6 percent after reporting fourth quarter earnings that fell year-over-year and announcing that its CEO will retire in May.
Utilities stocks have also come under pressure on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Utilities Average down by 1.3 percent. American Electric Power (AEP) and Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) are posting notable losses.
On the other hand, gold stocks have moved sharply higher on the day, benefiting from a continued increase by the price of gold. With gold for February delivery climbing $2.90 to $1,729.60 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is up by 2.3 percent.
Significant strength is also visible among airline stocks, which are extending a recent upward move. The NYSE Arca Airline Index has surged up by 2.5 percent on the day, reaching a six-month intraday high.
Healthcare provider, health insurance, and oil service stocks are also seeing notable strength in mid-day trading, although buying interest is relatively subdued.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly higher on Friday, although Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index closed up by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slipped 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 1.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note is down by less than a basis point at 1.928 percent.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.