The New York equities markets at midday on Friday seemed ready to close out the week with losses after data showing that the economy’s growth is slowing made more of an impact on investor sentiment than did the Federal Reserve’s decision Thursday to leave interest rates alone for another month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.2 percent lower on the session at midday and 0.5 percent lower for the week to 11,506.26. The Nasdaq Composite had lost 0.8 percent on the day and 0.7 percent on the week to 2,219.11. The S&P 500 had dropped 0.3 percent for the day and 0.5 percent for the week to 1,313.80.
Software makers were mixed, with Oracle up 8 percent to $17.63 after Wednesday’s fiscal first quarter profits were reported to be up by 29 percent. Microsoft, on the other hand, dropped 0.6 percent to $26.69. That still left Microsoft 25 percent higher since June, however.
Yahoo was down 13.7 percent over the week, to $25.30, after it said that a slowdown in advertising revenue will mean that its third-quarter figures will only reach the low end of previous forecasts.
Computer maker Hewlett-Packard dropped 4.5 percent during the week on investor worries about the outcome of an investigation into leaks to the media that could leave the company open to legal action.
The slowing housing market affected more than one sector. Home Depot fell 3.9 percent to $35.78, for a total loss of 9.4 percent so far this year, on a downgrade from “outperform” to “neutral” from Credit Suisse. Meanwhile, plumbing and home accessories manufacturer Masco dropped 6 percent to $26.53 after it blamed a lowered earnings guidance for the year on the decline in new housing starts.