US stocks Friday were mixed in early trade as investors eyed negotiations between the United States and Russia ahead of Sunday's referendum vote in Ukraine.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.88 points (0.07 percent) to 16,120.77.
The broad-based S&P 500 edged higher by 0.48 (0.03 percent) to 1,846.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 6.91 (0.16 percent) to 4,253.51.
US Secretary of State John Kerry met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in London ahead of Sunday's referendum vote in Crimea on whether to secede from Ukraine. The US and Western allies want Russia to pull back troops from the region.
"With the trying situation in Ukraine, it shouldn't come as a surprise if participants look to take some money off the table ahead of the weekend or, at least, show some reluctance to take new positions," said Patrick O'Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.
Food company General Mills lost 1.9 percent after it forecast quarterly profits of 61-62 cents per share, below the 68 cents projected by Wall Street analysts. One factor was higher marketing investment in the US for its yogurt products.
Liberty Media, which owns 53 percent of SiriusXM, announced it was dropping its offer to buy the remaining shares in the satellite radio company. Liberty shares jumped 8.3 percent, while SiriusXM advanced 2.2 percent.
Cosmetics company Ulta Beauty bested analyst estimates for earnings by two cents at $1.09 per share on a 6.7 percent rise in comparable-store sales. Shares surged 8.5 percent.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 2.64 percent from 2.65 percent, while the 30-year declined to 3.58 percent from 3.60 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
US stocks Friday were mixed in early trade as investors eyed negotiations between the United States and Russia ahead of Sunday’s referendum vote in Ukraine.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.88 points (0.07 percent) to 16,120.77.
The broad-based S&P 500 edged higher by 0.48 (0.03 percent) to 1,846.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 6.91 (0.16 percent) to 4,253.51.
US Secretary of State John Kerry met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in London ahead of Sunday’s referendum vote in Crimea on whether to secede from Ukraine. The US and Western allies want Russia to pull back troops from the region.
“With the trying situation in Ukraine, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if participants look to take some money off the table ahead of the weekend or, at least, show some reluctance to take new positions,” said Patrick O’Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.
Food company General Mills lost 1.9 percent after it forecast quarterly profits of 61-62 cents per share, below the 68 cents projected by Wall Street analysts. One factor was higher marketing investment in the US for its yogurt products.
Liberty Media, which owns 53 percent of SiriusXM, announced it was dropping its offer to buy the remaining shares in the satellite radio company. Liberty shares jumped 8.3 percent, while SiriusXM advanced 2.2 percent.
Cosmetics company Ulta Beauty bested analyst estimates for earnings by two cents at $1.09 per share on a 6.7 percent rise in comparable-store sales. Shares surged 8.5 percent.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 2.64 percent from 2.65 percent, while the 30-year declined to 3.58 percent from 3.60 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
