Stocks Break Even Despite Slower GDP

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks closed around the flat line Friday as investors weighed news that economic growth in the U.S. sputtered in the second quarter while a measure of Midwestern manufacturing health presented a better-than-expected picture.

After being down as many as 100 points during the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1 point lower to 10,466. The S&P 500 finished flat at 1102, holding just above the key 1100 technical level, while the Nasdaq added 3 points, or 0.1%, at 2255.

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The major averages were mixed for the week. Though the Dow posted a 0.4% uptick, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq retreated since last Friday's close, finishing down 0.1% and 0.7%, respectively. But the blue-chip average also posted its best month of gains in a year, as the Dow improved over 7% in July.

In the morning, the Commerce Department said GDP rose at a seasonally adjusted 2.4% annual rate during the second quarter, slowing from the beginning of the year. Increasing imports and a widening trade gap, along with lighter consumer spending, cut into growth during the April-to-June period. Yet a highlight of the report was increased business investment, particularly in equipment and software.

But the impact of the report lessened throughout the day. Stocks began bouncing off their worst levels after additional economic data offered subtle upside surprises.

"I do think that the GDP report is interesting as it is. Consumption was a lot weaker than we thought, but spending, aggregately, was pretty good," said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, who's also seeing some early indications that economic growth in the second half of the year may not be as anemic as many believe. "But I think the message today is that GDP is history. In some sense, we already knew there was a soft patch in the second quarter."

Paulsen also said market participants were already turning their attention to a flood of economic indicators due next week, including the government's much anticipated July jobs report.

Overseas, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.3% and Japan's Nikkei fell 1.6%. The FTSE in London was losing 0.2%, though the DAX in Frankfurt was ahead by 0.5%.

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