S&P, Nasdaq Opened Higher on Strong Tech Earnings, GDP data

U.S. stocks opened mixed on Friday, with the S&P and the Nasdaq rising as strong earnings from technology giants and a better-than-expected quarterly GDP growth lifted investor sentiment. While the Dow fell, weighed down by Chevron. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 25.56 points, or 0.11%, to 23,375.30. The S&P 500 gained 9.09 points, or 0.36%, to 2,569.49. The Nasdaq Composite added 87.41 points, or 1.33%, to 6,644.18.

Oil prices on Friday gave up some of Thursday’s robust gains, as investors put the brakes on Brent crude’s upward march to the elusive $60-a-barrel mark. December Brent was down 20 cents, or 0.3%, at $59.10 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate for December fell 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $52.53 a barrel.

The U.S. economy unexpectedly maintained a brisk pace of growth in the third quarter as an increase in inventory investment and a smaller trade deficit offset a hurricane-related slowdown in consumer spending and a decline in construction. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.0 percent annual rate in the July-September period, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

Chevron Corp. (CVX) reported third-quarter earnings. Chevron said it had net income of $1.952 billion, or $1.03 a share, up from $1.283 billion, or 68 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $36.2 billion from $30.1 billion.
CVS Health is in talks to buy health insurer Aetna for a proposed $200 per share or more, sources familiar said. The $66 billion or greater deal would be the largest ever in health insurance history, according to an analysis of Thomson Reuters data.

Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC) said on Friday it would lay off about 1,300 employees, or 1 percent of its total workforce, as the hospital operator looks to cut costs by $150 million in 2018.