The Nasdaq composite index opened at a record high on Friday on strong results from Google, while Boeing kept a check on the Dow. Strong consumer price index data, rebounding housing starts numbers and surging building permits could give the Federal Reserve confidence that inflation will gradually rise toward its 2 percent target. Google jumped as much as 14.5 percent to a record high of $688.81, a day after its profit beat forecasts for the first time in six quarters and the company said it would be more disciplined on spending. At 9:39 a.m. ET (1339 GMT) the Nasdaq composite was up 26.86 points, or 0.52 percent, at 5,190.04. The index touched an intraday high of 5,197.61. The S&P 500 was down 1.36 points, or 0.06 percent, at 2,122.93 and the Dow Jones industrial average was down 56.43 points, or 0.31 percent, at 18,063.82. Boeing fell 1.2 percent to $146.52, weighing on the Dow, after the company said it will take a second-quarter charge to deal with problems in its KC-46 aerial refueling tanker aircraft. General Electric shares rose 0.6 percent to $27.18, the biggest gainer on the Dow, after the conglomerate raised its 2015 outlook for its industrial manufacturing businesses. Seven of the 10 major S&P 500 indexes were lower with the energy index's 0.92 percent fall leading the decliners. The Nasdaq closed at a record high on Thursday, boosted by strong results from tech companies such as Netflix and ebay. The three major indexes were poised to end the week higher following strong earnings reports from most of the blue-chip companies. The University of Michigan's preliminary July reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment is expected to stay unchanged at 96.1. The data is due at 10 a.m. ET. Investors have been keeping a sharp eye on economic data for clues regarding the timing of the first interest rate increase in nearly a decade. The rate hike is broadly expected to be between September and December. The dollar was on track for its biggest weekly gain in two months on Friday as investors refocused on the chance of the rate hike. However, a strong dollar reduces the vale of U.S. companies' overseas income. Despite early, upbeat results this week, U.S. companies are expected to post their worst sales decline in nearly six years in the second quarter, in part due to the strong dollar. Profit is expected to have fallen 2.9 percent, according to Thomson Reuters estimates. German lawmakers gave their go ahead for the euro zone to negotiate a third bailout for Greece, heeding a warning from Chancellor Angela Merkel that the alternative to a deal with Athens was chaos. Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,690 to 942. On the Nasdaq, 1,299 issues fell and 955 advanced. The S&P 500 index showed 14 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 46 new highs and 22 new lows. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/135603.aspx
