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BUSINESS Saturday 1 april 2017
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Stocks end 1Q with solid gains after day of listless trading

Bond prices edged higher. market’s expectation for
The 10-year Treasury yield stronger first-quarter corpo-
fell to 2.39 percent from rate earnings.
2.42 percent late Thursday. “The market is moving
The major stock indexes ahead into the second
got off to a downbeat start quarter with valuations that
Friday and spent much of are high, but the expec-
the day wavering between tations are that the first-
small gains and losses as quarter earnings season
investors weighed several will confirm the valuations,”
corporate deals and new Krosby said.
economic data on con- All told, the S&P 500 in-
sumer spending and infla- dex ended the first three
tion. months of this year with a
The Commerce Depart- gain of 5.5 percent, the
ment said consumer spend- Nasdaq posted a gain of
ing kept rising in February, 9.8 percent and the Dow
though gains in the last two climbed of 4.6 percent.
months have been slow. The Russell 2000 ended the
Meanwhile, an inflation quarter with a gain of 2.1
gauge closely watched percent, its fourth quarter
by the Federal Reserve in- of growth in a row.
creased 2.1 percent in Feb- Investors bid up shares in
Specialist Thomas McArdle works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Wall ruary compared to a year companies with better-
Street closed out a solid quarter Friday with a day of listless trading that ended on a soft note. ago, a five-year high. than-expected earnings
(AP Photo/Richard Drew) The latest economic data Friday. Industrial products
ALEX VEIGA Trading was largely sub- 2000 index picked up 3.57 followed positive reports company DXP Enterprises
AP Business Writer dued, suggesting portfolio points, or 0.3 percent, to on consumer confidence, jumped $5.13, or 15.7 per-
(AP) - Wall Street closed out managers looking to bol- 1,385.92. Three stocks rose housing and economic cent, to $37.87, while Black-
a solid quarter Friday with a ster their end-of-quarter for every two that fell on growth earlier this week, Berry surged $1.03, or 11.1
day of listless trading that performance had made the New York Stock Ex- which have added to the percent, to $10.30.q
ended on a soft note. their moves earlier in the change.
The Standard & Poor’s week, said Quincy Krosby,
500 index notched its best market strategist at Pru-
three-month stretch since dential Financial.
the fourth quarter of 2015. “The market has performed
The Nasdaq composite very well,” she said.
turned in its best quarter The Dow slid 65.27 points,
since the end of 2013. or 0.3 percent, to 20,663.22.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq and The S&P 500 lost 5.34 points,
the Dow Jones industrial or 2 percent, to 2,362.72.
average ended the day The Nasdaq fell 2.61 points
down slightly, with finan- to 5,911.74. The index hit an
cials companies posting all-time high on Thursday.
the biggest decline. Real Small-company stocks
estate companies led the fared better than the rest
gainers. of the market. The Russell

Huawei 2016 sales up 32 percent,
profit unchanged due to spending

BEIJING (AP) — Hua- billion) while enterprise
wei Technology Ltd., the sales gained 47 percent to
world’s biggest maker of 40.7 billion ($5.9 billion).
telecoms equipment, said Spending on research and
Friday its 2016 sales rose 32 development rose 28 per-
percent from a year earlier cent to 76.4 billion yuan
but profit increased by only ($11 billion). Huawei has
0.4 percent due to higher the biggest R&D budget
spending on research and of any Chinese company.
marketing. Selling and administrative
Huawei said it earned 37 costs rose 38.8 percent to
billion yuan ($5.4 billion) 86.4 billion yuan ($12.5 bil-
on total revenue that rose lion). Huawei, headquar-
32 percent to 521.6 billion tered in the southern city
yuan ($75.6 billion). of Shenzhen, near Hong
Consumer sales, which Kong, is the biggest maker
includes Huawei’s smart- of network gear used by
phone brand, rose 44 per- telephone and Internet
cent to 179.8 billion yuan companies and the No. 3
($26 billion). Revenue for its smartphone brand behind
carrier business rose 24 per- Apple Inc. and Samsung
cent to 290.6 billion ($41.8 Electronics Ltd.q