Stocks Opened Lower after GDP Data

U.S. stocks opened mostly lower on Friday after data showed the U.S. economy expanded at a slower pace than expected  in the first quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately was off 1.92 points to 14,698.88. The S&P 500 index  dropped 2.81 points to 1,582.35 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 6.83 points to 3,283.16.

Economic growth regained speed in the first quarter, but not as much as expected, which could heighten fears the  already weakening economy could struggle to cope with deep government spending cuts and higher taxes. Gross domestic  product expanded at 2.5 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

Chevron Corp , the second-largest U.S. oil company, posted a 4.5 percent decline in quarterly profit on Friday,  pinched by weaker oil prices and work at its U.S. refineries.First-quarter net income fell 4.5 percent to $6.18  billion, or $3.18 per share, from $6.47 billion, or $3.27 per share, a year earlier. Fourth-quarter production was  2.65 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 2.63 million a year earlier.

D.R. Horton Inc’s (DHI) quarterly profit almost tripled as it sold more homes at higher prices. Net income rose to  $111.0 million, or 32 cents per share, in the second quarter from $40.6 million, or 13 cents per share, a year  earlier. Revenue rose 49 percent to $1.39 billion.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported on Friday its sixth straight quarter of profit growth ahead of the debut of its  latest Galaxy smartphone. Samsung’s first-quarter overall operating profit increased 54 percent from a year ago to  8.8 trillion won ($7.9 billion), broadly in line with its earlier estimate and almost on par with the fourth-  quarter’s record of 8.84 trillion won.