Forexpros – U.S. stocks opened the trading session lower Friday as Spanish debt fears and a declining Chinese GDP figure weighed on risk appetite.
At the open of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.46%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.47%, while the Nasdaq Composite gave back 0.51%.
Starting the equity sell off, China’s gross domestic product expanded just 8.1% from a year earlier in the first quarter, following an 8.9% advance in the last three months of 2011 adding to global growth fears and risk off sentiment.
In additional bearish news, U.S. consumer sentiment decreased to 75.7 in April from 76.2 last month pushing shares lower.
Euro zone worries weighed on equities with concerns of the ECB resuming its bond repurchase program triggered as Spanish government bonds moved toward a second – straight weekly decline signaling the respite in the debt crisis created by the ECB’s unlimited three year loans program may be ending.
German bunds, the euro zone benchmark government securities, advanced for the first time in three days.
Adding risk off sentiment, seventeen of the 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast that the ECB will be forced to resume its Securities Market Program to contain bond yields.
On Thursday, dampening greenback enthusiasm, the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose unexpectedly according to governmental data..
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week rose to a seasonally adjusted 380K, from 367K in the preceding week whose figure was revised up from 357K.
Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall to 355K last week.
In addition, the U.S. trade balance fell less-than-expected last month.
In a report, Bureau of Economic Analysis stated that U.S. trade balance dropped to a seasonally adjusted -46.0B, from -52.5B in the preceding month whose figure was revised up from -52.6B.
Analysts had expected U.S. trade balance to fall -52.0B last month.
China’s lack luster GDP numbers weighed on commodity producers with Freeport giving back 0.8% and Chesapeake falling 0.7%.
Wells Fargo reported a 13% increase in first quarter profits but gave back 0.2% in early trade.
Google added 0.3% on investor optimism over the plan for a new class of non voting shares.
In the midst of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 trades lower by 1.35%, France’s CAC 40 fell 1.37%, while Germany’s DAX dropped 0.89%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 gave back 0.56%.
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