U.S. stocks trade mixed amid earnings reports

NEW YORK, April 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded mixed on Friday as investors were sifting through a string of corporate earnings.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 52.20 points, or 0.21 percent, to 24,270.14. The S&P 500 increased 0.38 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,667.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.69 points, or 0.05 percent, to 7,114.98.

U.S. e-commerce giant reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that way above market expectations after the closing bell on Thursday. Shares of the company surged over 5 percent in midday session on Friday.

Microsoft also posted better-than-forecast earnings, sending its stock 1.2 percent higher.

So far, the earnings season has been overall positive. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported, 79.4 percent have posted better-than-forecast earnings, according to latest data from U.S. research firm FactSet.

On the U.S. economic front, gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 2.3 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its snapshot of first-quarter GDP on Friday, beating market consensus of a 2-percent gain. Enditem