Wall Street ends little changed; Microsoft hits record

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The S&P 500 and the Dow were little changed and the Nasdaq advanced on Friday as a record day for Microsoft and earnings from McDonald's helped offset a fall in energy and healthcare shares. General Electric, often seen as an economic bellwether, weighed on the market as the industrial conglomerate's posted results that topped expectations but cut its full-year revenue target to send shares down 0.9 percent after it touched an 8-month low of USD 28.33. A stronger dollar, which touched its highest level since early February, also pulled on sentiment as it could dent the earnings of large multinationals. 

 

"The dollar is getting stronger, that is going to have a negative impact energy prices, that is going to have a negative impact on corporate earnings, at least potentially," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors, in New York. The energy index was off 0.7 percent, while health declined 0.9 percent. Johnson & Johnson and Merck, were both down 1.2 percent, and among the biggest drags on the healthcare sector. 

 

Schlumberger, the world's No. 1 oilfield services provider, weighed on the energy index as it lost 3 percent after its quarterly results. But gains in Microsoft and McDonald's on the back of their strong quarterly reports helped keep losses in check.