US Stocks Fall As Investors Take Profits

US stocks fall as investors take profits

NEW YORK, July 29 (Xinhua) — Wall Street stocks closed lower Friday as investors collected profits after the nation’s gross domestic product growth was weaker than many economists had expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 64.64 points, or 0.60 percent, to 10,640.91 points. The Nasdaq composite index shed 13. 61 points, or 0.62 percent, to 2,184.83 points. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 9.54 points, or 0.77 percent, to 1,234. 18 points.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that GDP was growing at an annual rate of 3.4 percent, slightly lower than the 3.5 percent many economists had anticipated. Meanwhile, investors were also focusing on the next meeting by the Federal Reserve on Aug. 9, when the interest rates might be raised to 3.5 percent.

In corporate news, Unocal Corp. fell 35 cents to 64.85 dollars despite reporting strong earnings. Unocal stock had lost momentum after media reports said China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Ltd. (Cnooc) might drop its bid for the company.

Chevron Corp. fell 93 cents to 58.01 dollars, while Cnooc rose 4.61 dollars to 69.81 dollars.

Metlife Inc. climbed 1.08 dollars to 49.14 dollars and Wendy’s International Inc. surged 6.43 dollars to 51.70 dollars.

On the NYSE, declining stocks outpaced advancers by about 5 to 3, and the trading volume was 1.4 billion shares.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.2129 dollars from 1.2139, and the British pound was unchanged at 1.2129 dollars late Thursday. The dollar was buying 112.31 dollars, up from 112.11, 1. 2875 Swiss francs, up from 1.2851, and 1.2244 Canadian dollars, down from 1.2303 late Thursday.