Stocks ended mixed Friday as a lower-than-expected consumer confidence report sparked worry about the economy and oil prices rose modestly, while an upbeat outlook from Dell Inc. lifted tech shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49.36, or 0.5 percent, to 10,140.12. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 5.31, or 0.5 percent, at 1,154.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.90, or 0.7 percent, to 1,976.78.
Stocks were held back by the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, which showed a larger-than-expected drop in confidence. The May index came in at 85.3, substantially lower than the 88.3 expected on Wall Street.
After falling most of the week, oil prices moved slightly higher in late trading, with a barrel of light crude settling at $48.67, up 13 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
And Dell led the tech sector rally, climbing $2.72 to $39.33 after it reported a 28 percent jump in profits. Dell also forecast higher revenue growth for the current quarter, which led to an upgrade by analysts at UBS.
Among local companies, Arden Group Inc. rose 12 percent to $73.07 after the board of directors of the L.A.-based parent company of Gelson’s Markets declared a regular quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share on Class A common stock. The dividend is payable on July 20 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 30. On Thursday after market close, the company reported net income of $5.5 million ($1.62 per diluted share) for the first quarter ended April 2, compared with $8.6 million ($2.53) for the like period a year earlier.
And Guitar Center Inc. gained 4.9 percent to $50.31 after the Westlake Village-based music instrument retailer’s stock was raised to “strong buy” from “accumulate” by analyst William R. Armstrong at CL King & Associates. The 12-month price target was set at $65 per share.
On the down side, Taitron Components Inc. sank 16.9 percent to close at $1.52 after the Valencia-based distributor of electronic parts reported a net loss of $129,000 (2 cents per diluted share) for the first quarter ended March 31, compared with income of $10,000 (breakeven) for the like period a year earlier. Revenue fell to $1.8 million from $2.5 million in the year-ago period.
And En Pointe Technologies Inc. fell 3.6 percent to $2.70 after the El Segundo-based information technology products provider reported, after Thursday’s close, net income of $90,000 (1 cent per diluted share) for the second quarter ended March 31, compared with $205,000 (3 cents) for the like period a year earlier.
