Late trading, report send stocks lower

NEW YORK – A weaker gross domestic product figure and a flurry of late-day trading left stocks widely mixed Friday, with tech issues and small caps gaining as blue chips suffered. The major indexes also finished the week mixed.

The GDP grew at a 3.9 percent annual rate in the first quarter – a strong pace, but less than Wall Street expected. Investors put a mixed spin on the news – some believed the lower figure would mean less inflation and moderate interest rates, while others questioned the strength of the economic recovery.

However, most investors agreed that the GDP figure would prevent the Federal Reserve from raising rates aggressively at its meeting next week. Wall Street is expecting a 0.25 percent rate hike from the two-day meeting that starts Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 71.97, or 0.7 percent, to 10,371.84.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down 6.22, or 0.6 percent, at 1,134.43, and the Nasdaq composite index gained up 9.90, or 0.5 percent, at 2,025.47.