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Roundup: U.S. stocks end mixed amid upbeat GDP report

Xinhua, February 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks closed mixed Friday after wavering in a tight range, as the country's economic growth was revised up to 1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.32 points, or 0.34 percent, to 16,639.97. The S&P 500 dipped 3.65 points, or 0.19 percent, to 1,948.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 8.27 points, or 0.18 percent, to 4,590.47.

According to the second estimate released Friday by the Commerce Department, U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015, beating market consensus of 0.4 percent.

In the previous estimate, the increase in real GDP for the fourth quarter of 2015 was 0.7 percent.

"The second print of Q4 GDP surprised to the upside, though the underlying picture of moderation at the end of last year remains unchanged. While consumer spending growth was slightly weaker than initially reported, overall consumption grew 3.1 percent in 2015, the strongest growth since 2005," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department announced that in January, U.S. personal income increased 79.6 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.5 percent, and personal consumption expenditures increased 63 billion dollars, or 0.5 percent.

Overseas stock markets rallied broadly Friday. Chinese stocks finished higher following previous day's steep decline, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.95 percent to close at 2,767.21 points.

European equities posted solid gains. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange jumped 1.95 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 1.38 percent.

For the week, the blue-chip Dow increased 1.5 percent, and the broader S&P 500 leapt 1.6 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 1.9 percent.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 3.66 percent to end at 19.81 Friday.

In other markets, oil prices closed lower Friday as investors took profits from earlier gains.

The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery moved down 0.29 dollar to settle at 32.78 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery dropped 0.19 dollar to close at 35.10 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies Friday as the economic growth data from the country came out positive.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0928 U.S. dollars from 1.1024 dollars in the previous session, while the U.S. dollar bought 113.91 Japanese yen, higher than 112.96 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell Friday as a stronger U.S. dollar put pressure on the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for April delivery lost 18.4 dollars, or 1.49 percent, to settle at 1,220.40 dollars per ounce. Endit