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US stocks end dull week with a sag

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US stocks have closed lower despite strong Chinese economic data, finishing a sluggish trading week on a down note.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 72.81 (0.47 per cent) to 15,425.51 on Friday.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 6.06 (0.36 per cent) to 1,691.42, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 9.01 (0.25 per cent) at 3,660.11.

There was little concrete news to spark support for prices.

The market brushed off news that Chinese industrial production rose 9.7 per cent in July, well above expectations of 9.0 per cent, more evidence of strength in the world’s second largest economy.

Analysts said Friday’s losses were accentuated by light trading volume as many investors were on summer holiday.

Last week’s trade was “a chance maybe to take some profits,” after the Dow and S&P 500 finished at record highs the previous week, said William Lynch, director of investment at Hinsdale Associates.

Large gains were posted by industrials Alcoa (up 3.9 per cent) and Dow Chemical (up 3.1 per cent).

Tech giant Apple fell 1.4 per cent.

Market watchers awaited a key possible patent decision later in the day from the International Trade Commission that could block the import of some products from Apple rival Samsung.

Online travel company Priceline jumped 3.9 per cent after earnings came in at $US9.70 per share, well above the $US9.38 forecast by analysts.

The company projects a year-over-year increase of 27-34 per cent in travel bookings in the next quarter.

Smartphone maker BlackBerry jumped 5.7 per cent following a report that the company is open to going private

Cloud computing company Rackspace Hosting gained 8.2 per cent after earnings came in at 16 cents per share, three cents above expectations.

Nvidia, which develops graphics chips for computers and smartphones, fell 1.4 per cent after forecasting third-quarter revenues of $US1.05 billion, below the $US1.1 billion expected by analysts.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 2.58 per cent from 2.59 per cent on Thursday, while the 30-year dropped to 3.64 per cent from 3.67 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.