Stocks edged lower in the early trading on Friday as data showing the U.S. economy grew at a sluggish pace in the second quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 38.18 points, or 0.21%, to 18,418.17. The S&P 500 was up 0.16 point, or 0.01%, to 2,170.22. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.51 points, or 0.03%, to 5,156.49.
The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster 1.2% pace in the second quarter, but a big rebound in consumer spending was overshadowed by the largest drop in business investment since the end of the Great Recession.
Oil futures were poised Friday to mark their third-monthly loss of the year, with West Texas Intermediate crude officially entering a bear market as lingering concerns about oversupply and a deluge of refined products triggered a selloff. Crude for September delivery CLU6, -0.95% slumped 46 cents, or 1.1%, to $40.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Merck & Co. (MRK) reported Friday second-quarter earnings that rose to $1.21 billion, or 43 cents a share, from $687 million, or 24 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring acquisition and divestiture-related costs, adjusted earnings per share.
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