U.S. stocks edge up amid data, earnings

U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range on Friday, as investors continued to digest the Fed statement amid GDP data and corporate earnings.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 13.46 points, or 0.08 percent, to 17,759.44. The S&P 500 gained 4.58 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,113.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 21.48 points, or 0.42 percent, to 5,150.26.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday said the country's economy and job market continued to improve since June, a sign that the central bank remains on track to raise interest rate later this year. But it didn't provide a clear signal for the rate hike timetable.

The Fed has kept its benchmark short-term interest rate near zero since December 2008.

The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the second quarter, a moderate bounce from the revised 0.6 percent increase in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The growth in the second quarter was lower than the market expectation of over 2.5 percent.

In corporate news, ExxonMobil announced Friday that it earned 4. 2 billion U.S. dollars in second quarter of 2015, compared with 8. 8 billion dollars a year earlier. Analysts said its quarterly profit declined sharply on falling oil prices.

Chevron reported Friday earnings of 571 million dollars, or 30 cents per diluted share, for second quarter 2015, missing market expectations. Shares dropped around 4 percent in the early trading.

U.S. stocks pared early losses to close mixed Thursday as investors were digesting the U.S. second quarter GDP report. Endite