LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - US stocks edged lower early on Friday, despite a report showing the economy grew in the second quarter, while weekly jobless claims remained near their lowest level in decades.
Just before 1500 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 94 points down to 17,657.15, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were five and 12 points lower respectively

Thursday data

Economic activity in the US climbed in the second quarter of the year to a reach an annualised pace of 2.3%, falling short of analysts' expectations for a 2.5% reading.

However, the pace of growth for the first three months of the year was revised up to show a gain of 0.6% instead of the previous estimate which revealed a contraction of 0.2%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

"The new data, and the first quarter revisions in particular, remove a worrying sense of doubt about the health of the economy that will have given cautious policymakers a reason to hold back on hiking interest rates for the first time since rates were effectively cut to zero at the height of the global financial crisis," said Markit's chief economist Chris Williamson.

Meanwhile, over the seven days ending on 25 July initial jobless claims increased by 12,000 to reach 267,000, according to the Department of Labour compared with a forecast of 275,000.

"The smaller-than-expected bounce in initial claims following last week's remarkably low reading supports our view that US labor market momentum remains solid," analysts at Barclays said in a note.

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold but signalled its intention to start raising interest rates in the summer, depending on economic data.

"Dealers have a short-term mindset, and as soon as they heard nothing to warrant an interest rate hike in the immediate future they jumped on the bandwagon, but it was short lived," said IG's financial analyst David Madden.

"Some traders are looking to September for an interest rate hike, and others think it's too soon, but the Fed has been intentionally cagey and September can't be ruled out."

Facebook earnings disappoint

In company news, social media giant Facebook fell 2.57% after reporting a decline in second quarter earnings.

Whole Foods plunged 10.78% after posting results that fell short of forecasts late on Wednesday, while phone-maker Nokia jumped 6.2% after delivering better-than-expected results.

Cable-TV provider Time Warner Cable shed 0.83% after reporting a 19% drop in adjusted second quarter profit, which was short of analysts' expectations.

Consumer-goods company Procter & Gamble Co. fell 3.56% after its fourth-quarter revenue slightly missed consensus, while oral and personal care Colgate-Palmolive lost 2.02% despite delivering results that met forecast.

Oil and gas explorer ConocoPhillips slipped 0.68%, despite saying it remained on track to achieve the higher end of its 2015 production target.

Videogame-maker Electronic Arts, biotech company Amgen and online networking site LinkedIn are on tap after the close.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks closed on a mixed note, with the Shanghai Composite Index shedding 2.2%, while European equities struggled for direction despite a raft of solid reports.

The dollar shed 0.12% against the pound but climbed 0.31% and 0.51% against the yen and the pound respectively, while gold futures shed 0.72% to $1,084.70.

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