By Ovunc Kutlu
NEW YORK (AA) – The stock market opened mixed Friday, as weak first quarter performance of the American economy was balanced by rising shares of certain U.S. tech firms.
The Dow lost 16 points to begin the last trading day of the week at 20,965 points.
The S&P 500 added less than a point to open at 2,389. The Nasdaq rose 14 points to begin the day at 6,063 points — a new all-time high for the index.
The American economy grew only 0.7 percent in the first quarter of the year, marking its lowest growth rate in the last three years, the Department of Commerce announced earlier Friday.
The U.S. tech firms Google’s parent company Alphabet and e-commerce giant Amazon saw their stock prices increase Friday, after the companies posted strong first quarter earnings on Thursday.
With the first bell, Alphabet shares rose around 4 percent, and Amazon shares gained 2.6 percent.
