On The Fly: Top stock stories for Friday

Stocks opened little changed and moved in a narrow range throughout the day. The focus of attention was the vote on the Trump administration's bill meant to repeal and replace Obamacare. The pundits went back and forth all day, not only debating the chances for the passage of the bill but also wondering if a vote would even occur. Near the close of trading news broke that President Trump told House Speaker Ryan to pull the GOP healthcare bill, acknowledging it would not get the votes needed to pass, which temporarily made for some volatility, though the averages finished mixed and not far from where they'd started the day when all was said and done. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., durable goods orders rose 1.7% in February after a 2.3% January gain. Markit's manufacturing PMI was 53.4, with the services index at 52.9, in the preliminary March readings. Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count is up 20 rigs from last week to 809 rigs. In Asia, the Nikkei Flash Japan manufacturing PMI slowed to 52.6 in March from 53.3 in February. In Europe, Markit's Eurozone composite PMI climbed to 56.7 from February's 56.0, hitting its highest reading since April 2011. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Micron Technology (MU) jumped 7.4% after the chip maker reported earnings that beat consensus forecasts and gave a much better than expected outlook for its third quarter... Conversely, GameStop (GME) dropped about 13.6% after the video game retailer reported slightly lower than expected fourth quarter revenue and issued lower than predicted guidance for the new fiscal year... President Trump announced that his administration has approved the Keystone XL pipeline, reversing the previous administration's decision to block the oil project. Trump said that the U.S. Department has signed and issued TransCanada's (TRP) permit, making good on his campaign promise. The President, speaking from the Oval Office, also announced that Charter Communications (CHTR) will invest $25B in the U.S., hire over 20,000 workers over the next four years, and move all its call centers into the U.S.... Following media reports earlier in the week that AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) have suspended advertising from Alphabet's (GOOGL, GOOG) YouTube and other Google properties over concerns the tech giant isn't doing enough to prevent brands' ads from appearing next to offensive material, PepsiCo (PEP), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Dish (DISH) said they were also suspending spending on all Google advertising except targeted search ads, according to The Wall Street Journal. Additionally, Starbucks (SBUX) and General Motors (GM) are pulling their ads from YouTube, and 21st Century Fox's (FOXA, FOX) FX Networks is suspending all advertising spending on Google, the publication noted, adding that Toyota (TM) and Microsoft (MSFT) are also monitoring the situation. Coca-Cola (KO) and Procter and Gamble (PG) said they were working with Google but declined to say if they were reducing spending, the report pointed out. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Under Armour (UAA), which advanced 3.64% after Jefferies analyst Randal Konik upgraded the stock to Buy saying a "bottom has formed." Also higher was SeaWorld (SEAS), which gained 4.74% after announcing a long-term investment by China's Zhonghong Group. Among the noteworthy losers was Finish Line (FINL), which slid 19.5% after the sneaker seller reported worse than expected fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share. Also lower was US Concrete (USCR), which dropped 8.85% after the company disclosed that CFO Joseph Tusa has resigned and that it has switched accounting firms. INDEXES: The Dow fell 59.86, or 0.29%, to 20,596.72, the Nasdaq gained 11.04, or 0.19%, to 5,828.74, and the S&P 500 dipped 1.98, or 0.08%, to 2,343.98.