Investing.com - Wall Street shares retreated in U.S. trade Friday, as stocks wavered between mild gains and losses and the sesion spelled a rocky day for computer-maker Hewlett-Packard.
During afternoon trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% to 10,921,90, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.4% to 2,371.49, and the S&P 500 eased 0.4% to 1,135.62.
The Dow began the day with a 120 point gain.
While technology shares in general fared well in the session, Hewlett-Packard Co. played market focus as the company’s stock plunged by 20% in reaction to acquisition and spinoff news from the electronics and computer manufacturer.
Late Thursday, H-P announced it would be purchasing business software company Autonomy Corp. for USD10 billion.
H-P also said it was considering a spinoff or a possible sale of its personal computer business, as the firm initiates a general overhaul to concentrate on its software division.
Other U.S. computer manufacturers were mixed in the session, with Dell Inc. up 2.7%, Apple Inc. fell 1% and IBM Corp. dropped 2.2%.
The market digested a batch of economic data released Thursday, including the U.S. Labor Department report that initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to 408,000 for the week ending August 12. Jobless claims were forecast to reach 400,000 for the month.
In a separate report, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell by 3.5% in July, hitting an eight-month low. Economist’s forecasts predicted a gain of 2.7% for the month.
And a report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank showed that factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region dropped to its lowest level since March of 2009. The Philadelphia Fed’s report is seen as a harbinger of wider U.S. economic trends.
Meanwhile, concerns about European debt insolvency took a new turn as European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said the EU may consider the joint issuing of euro bonds in an effort to strengthen fiscal discipline among euro-zone nations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the idea of jointly issued euro-area bonds, saying that “collectivization” of the region’s debt would have little benefit for euro members.
Market players were expected to focus on a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at next week’s central bank meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for possible signs of further quantitative easing from the Fed.