Roundup: U.S. stocks post mixed weekly results amid earnings, economic data

NEW YORK, May 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks posted mixed weekly results for the week as investors digested a slew of corporate earnings reports as well as major economic data.

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both lost 0.2 percent while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.3 percent.

On the earnings front, first quarter earnings are expected to increase 25.7 percent while the blended revenue growth estimate is 8.4 percent, according to Thomson Reuters on Friday.

Of the 409 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date for the first quarter this year, 79.2 percent have reported earnings above analyst expectations, said Thomson Reuters.

Apple reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday after the closing bell that topped Wall Street's expectations.

The company posted quarterly revenue of 61.1 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 16 percent from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of 2.73 dollars, up 30 percent. International sales accounted for 65 percent of the quarter's revenue.

Before the opening bell on Tuesday, the biopharmaceutical company Pfizer reported first-quarter revenue that missed analysts' estimates, but its profit topped Wall Street expectations.

McDonald's on Monday reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, as menu price increases fueled higher check averages in its U.S. stores.

The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 1.79 U.S. dollars and revenue of 5.14 billion dollars, both topping Wall Street's expectations.

In corporate news, Disney announced on Monday that the company will be creating new live shows specifically for Twitter. Shares of Twitter jumped 4.52 percent to close at 30.31 dollars apiece on Monday.

On the economic front, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 164,000 in April, lower than the 195,000 expected by economists, according to the Labor Department.

Average hourly earnings growth also missed estimates as it rose only 0.15 percent against expectations of a 0.2 percent gain.

Despite the disappointing number of jobs created, the unemployment rate edged down to 3.9 percent, following 6 months at 4.1 percent. The number of unemployed persons, at 6.3 million, also edged down over the month, said the department.

New applications for U.S. jobless benefits increased less than expected last week.

In the week ending April 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 211,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 209,000, said the Labor Department on Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 221,500, a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 229,250. This is the lowest level for this average since March 3, 1973 when it was 221,250, the department said.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept the interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, in line with market expectation, while expressing confidence that inflation is near its 2-percent target.

"The (Federal Open Market) Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1.5 to 1.75 percent," said the Fed in a statement after concluding a two-day policy meeting.

The statement showed the central bank's confidence over inflation, acknowledging that core inflation rate has moved close to the central bank's 2-percent target.

"Inflation on a 12-month basis is expected to run near the Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective over the medium term," said the Fed. Enditem