Stocks Opened Lower After GDP Reading

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, after a second reading of first-quarter GDP showed the U.S. economy slipped into contraction territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped 42.51 points, or 0.23%, to 18,083.61. The S&P 500 fell 5.94 points, or 0.28%, to 2,114.85. The Nasdaq Composite was down 8.77 points, or 0.17%, to 5,089.21.

U.S. economy shrank last quarter thanks to a decline in some inputs and barely there growth in others. Gross domestic product shrank at a 0.7 percent annualized rate, revised from a previously reported 0.2 percent gain, according to Commerce Department figures issued Friday in Washington.

Avago Technologies is buying fellow chip maker Broadcom for $37 billion in a deal that continues a consolidation trend in the semiconductor industry.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is close to a deal to buy smaller chipmaker Altera (NASDAQ: ALTR) for about $15 billion, according to a report in the New York Post. Intel could pay as much as $54 a share-a 15 percent premium over Altera’s Thursday closing price of $46.97.