US stocks trade mixed amid economic data

New York, June 28 (IANS) US stocks traded mixed on Thursday as investors digested a batch of key economic data.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 11.31 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 26,525.51. The S&P 500 was up 9.87 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 2,923.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 40.50 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 7,950.47, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The Commerce Department said the US economy grew at 3.1 per cent in the first quarter, according to its third estimate.

The figure was in line with the second estimate because the upward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment, exports, state and local government spending, and residential fixed investment were offset by downward revisions to personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and inventory investment and an upward revision to imports, the department said.

In the week ending June 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 227,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level, the Labour Department said on Thursday. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 2,16,000 to 2,17,000.

The four-week moving average was 2,21,250, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average, said the Department.

The pending home sales index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, climbed 1.1 per cent to 105.4 in May, up from 104.3 in April, the National Association of Realtors said on Thursday.

The association said year-over-year contract signings declined 0.7 per cent, marking the 17th straight month of annual decreases.