US: Wall St stocks edge lower on poor US growth report

[NEW YORK] US stocks opened slightly lower on Friday after a revision of official data showed the US economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.7 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

The figures came in roughly as expected, showing a heavy drag from trade due to the West Coast ports slowdown, but consumer spending also was lower than originally thought.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 31.46 points (0.17 per cent) to 18,094.66.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 2.70 points (0.13 per cent) at 2,118.09, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 2.28 (0.04 per cent) at 5,095.70.

AFP