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U.S. equities mostly fell on Friday, pressured by a strong dollar as earnings season continued and telecommunications lagged.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its lows, but still trailed Thursday’s close by 43.11 points to 18,119.24, with Travelers leading decliners and Microsoft the top advancer..
The S&P 500 dropped 2.67 points to 2,138.67, with telecommunications leading eight sectors lower and information technology the biggest riser.
Telecoms were led lower by shares of AT&T, which fell nearly 4% amid reports the firm has engaged in talks for a deal to buy out Time Warner. Shares of Time Warner gained more than 9%
The NASDAQ composite index regained strength 12.28 points to 5,254.11
In corporate news, Dow component General Electric reported mixed results Friday before the open, beating estimates on earnings but missing on revenues. The industrial giant also narrowed its 2016 earnings per share guidance.
Meanwhile, Microsoft, another Dow component, posted better-than-expected results across the board on Thursday.
In all, 80% of the 116 S&P components that had reported as of Friday morning had beaten Wall Street's earnings estimates, while 65% had beaten revenue estimates.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell back, raising yields to Thursday’s 1.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were unchanged at $50.63 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices eased $2.70 to $1,264.80 U.S. an ounce.
