S. stocks are down this morning after Wednesday’s Gross Domestic Product numbers indicated a slowing economy. The S&P 500 is down 0.12%, and the Dow is down 0.11%. There were 262,000 initial claims for unemployment for the week of 4/25, down from 295,000 the prior week.
Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as the bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged. The Hang Seng dropped 0.94%, while the Nikkei was up 2.69%.
In Europe, stocks are mixed with markets there on pace for a monthly loss. The FTSE is down 0.02% while the DAX is up 0.37%.
Energy futures are mixed today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up $0.56 to $59.14 per barrel, while natural gas is down $0.03. Metals prices are down. Gold is down $5.30 and platinum is down $9.30. The Dollar is down versus the Euro and the Yen.
WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc. (WX), Noble Corporation plc (NE) and TASER International Inc.(TASR) are early risers, while Yelp Inc. (YELP), STMicroelectronics NV (STM) and The Timken Company (TKR) are down.
