Fly Intel: Wall Street's top stories for Friday

Stocks began the day mixed with the Nasdaq higher thanks to solid earnings from Microsoft (MSFT) while the Dow struggled following comments from President Trump on tariffs and trade along with negative comments about the Fed and interest rates. The market opened off its low it hit during the pre-market trading session and eventually drifted into positive ground. The market then moved in a narrow range for most of the day as it was unable to gain any upside momentum. The market moved lower heading into the close as the news flow and trading volume slowed.ECONOMIC NEWS: In the U.S., equities reversed lower after President Trump doubled down on potentially imposing tariffs on $500B in Chinese goods and fresh barbs against yuan and euro weakness. Meanwhile, the president tweeted that tightening now "hurts all that we have done" and that the U.S. "should be allowed to recapture" anything lost due to "illegal currency manipulation and BAD Trade Deals." In Fed news, St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard said that the yield curve is a bearish signal on the economy. In addition, Bullard commented on Trump's policy references, saying that the president can comment on monetary policy, but it is up to the Fed to take the best actions to achieve its dual mandate. Later, a White House official told CNBC that Trump is worried that the Fed will raise interest rates two more times this year. In energy news, Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count is down 8 rigs from last week to 1,046. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of General Electric (GE) were 4.4% lower after the company reported earnings for the second quarter, adding that it sees its earnings per share for fiscal 2018 to be at the low end of the $1.00-$1.07 range... Microsoft shares, meanwhile, rose 1.8% after the software and technology giant reported better than expected results for the fourth quarter, with its revenue in Productivity and Business Processes growing 10% year-over-year in constant currency... Shares of Honeywell (HON) were also up, gaining 3.7% after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings and raising its earnings and revenue guidance for fiscal 2018... Platform Specialty Products (PAH) shares fell 7.3% after the company said it agreed to sell its Agricultural Solutions business, which consists of Arysta LifeSciences and its subsidiaries, to UPL Corporation for $4.2B in cash. Following the sale, Platform Specialty Products plans to rebrand as Element Solutions... Additionally, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) shares jumped 2.9% in New York after the Financial Times reported that the company's board is weighing a potential breakup of the company. GSK later told Bloomberg that it believes its three business structure offers "significant opportunities." MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was PTC Therapeutics (PTCT), which rose 9.4% after it agreed to acquire Agilis Biotherapeutics. Also higher were Limelight Networks (LLNW) and VF Corp. (VFC), which gained a respective 9.6% and 4.2% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was Skechers (SKX), which plunged 21% after it reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings and provided downbeat guidance for the third quarter. Also lower after reporting quarterly results were State Street (STT) and Skyworks (SWKS), which fell 7.3% and 5.4%, respectively. INDEXES: The Dow fell 6.38, or 0.03%, to 25,058.12, the Nasdaq lost 5.10, or 0.07%, to 7,820.20, and the S&P 500 declined 2.67, or 0.10%, to 2,801.82.

MSFT

Microsoft

GE

General Electric

HON

Honeywell

PAH

Platform Specialty Products

GSK

GlaxoSmithKline

PTCT

PTC Therapeutics

LLNW

Limelight Networks

VFC

VF Corp.

SKX

Skechers

STT

State Street

SWKS

Skyworks