Investing.com - Wall Street blew off soft consumer spending and personal spending reports on Friday, as investors viewed the data as disappointing but nothing suggesting recovery was beginning to wane, which gave share prices room to finish the day largely higher.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 rose 0.11%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.18%, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.13%.
The Volatility S&P 500 index, which measures market volatility, was down 1.47% at 11.40.
The revised Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index ticked up to 81.9 this month from 81.8 in April, missing market expectations for a reading of 82.5.
While harsh winter weather dampened spirits, concerns wages will remain weak did more so.
"The May decline in consumer confidence was not due to the dismal state of the economy during the 1st quarter, which had the weakest pace of GDP growth in three years. Consumers thought the harsh winter weather was mainly responsible," the indicator's statement read.
Consumer sentiment could suffer more if the economy failed to rebound in the months ahead, though the survey revealed that consumers feel the economy will be strong enough to produce more jobs in the year ahead, which drew applause on Wall Street, though wage concerns capped gains.
"The main concern expressed by consumers involved dismal prospects for wage growth. Tiny wage gains meant that nearly half of all households anticipated declines in inflation-adjusted incomes during the year ahead," the statement read.
Elsewhere, the Commerce Department reported that personal spending in the U.S. fell 0.1% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% rise, after a 1.0% increase in March, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.9% gain.
U.S. core personal consumption expenditures, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2% in April, in line with expectations, after a 0.2% increase the previous month.
Separately, industry data revealed that the Chicago purchasing managers' index rose to a seven-month high of 65.5 in May, from 63.0 in March, confounding expectations for a fall to 61.0.
On Thursday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the U.S. economy contracted 1.0% in the first quarter after a preliminary estimate showed growth of 0.1%.
Market expectations had been for a 0.5% contraction. It was the first decline in GDP since the first quarter of 2011, though still, many investors viewed the numbers as potholes in the road to U.S. recovery, with little evidence to suggest a major cool down is on the way.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), up 1.45%, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), up 1.28%, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), up 1.03%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), down 1.34%, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), down 0.74%, and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), down 0.69%.
European indices, meanwhile, ended the day largely lower.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.02%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.24%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.04%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 fell 0.39%.