US stocks open lower on China's GDP announcement

US stocks opened lower Friday following China's announcement that it wouldn't set a GDP growth target for the year following the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement cast doubt about global growth.

The three major US indexes have gained about 3 percent this week, but a sharp downturn could erase most or all the gains.

Some traders typically sell prior to a three-day weekend to avoid the shock of unexpected bad news, driving the market down. But others see lower prices as a buying opportunity.

In early trading Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 76.43 points, or 0.32 percent, to 24,397.69. The SP& 500 slid 0.30 percent. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.l5 percent.

On Thursday, the Dow fell 101.78 points, or 0.41 percent, and closed at 24,474.12. The S&P 500 lost 0.78 percent. The Nasdaq Composite slid 0.97 percent.

In early trading Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude, the gauge for US prices, retreated 2.74 percent to $32.97 a barrel. Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, fell 2.88 percent to $35.02 a barrel.

The price of oil is an indicator of future economic activity. Rising prices suggest traders see strong demand ahead. US oil futures briefly turned negative during the worst of the coronavirus outbreak as demand for fuel collapsed and storage facilities filled up.

Apple sold 3.9 million iPhones in China last month – a 160 percent increase from March during the coronavirus outbreak, CINNO Research reported.

Apple closed stores during the outbreak to curb the spread of COVID-19, but reopened by mid-March. Sales rebounded and took off in April, thanks in part to a cheaper iPhone.

In April, total smartphone shipments in China increased about 94 percent compared with March and totaled 40.8 million, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a state-run research organization, reported.

In early trading, Apple's shares slipped 0.26 percent.

IBM said it plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs, the first major workforce reduction under new CEO Arvind Krishna.

The company seeks to become more agile in a competitive market, but the cut play out against the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic that has forced many to postpone new investments.

"IBM's work in a highly competitive marketplace requires flexibility to constantly remix high-value skills, and our workforce decisions are made in the long-term interest of the business," IBM said in a statement.

In early trading, IBM's shares dipped 0.52 percent.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise also announced a plan to slash expenses, including salary cuts, unpaid leave and a hiring freeze.

The company reported a loss of $821 million on revenue of $6.01 billion, a 16 percent drop from sales of $7.15 billion a year ago.

"The global economic lockdowns since February significantly impacted our fiscal second quarter financial performance," CEO Antonio Neri said in a statement. "We excited Q2 with $1.5 billion in orders across the portfolio, representing two times the average historical backlog."

In early trading, Hewlett Packard's stock fell 8.42 percent.

Palo Alto Networks, a cyber-security company, said fiscal third-quarter revenue increased 20 percent year-over-year to $869.4 million. But the company reported a net loss of $74.8 million compared with a loss of $20.2 million for the same period a year ago.

"The world will likely be in a state of transition over the next 12 to 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic," CEO Nikesh Arora said in a statement.

"We believe this will prompt key trends to accelerate, including remote working models, shit to the cloud, and focus on automation to drive effective cyber-security outcomes. Palo alto Networks is well positioned to leverage the acceleration of these trends."

In early trading, the company's shares gained 4.07 percent.

Jeff Gennette, Macy's CEO, said the recent cascade of bankruptcies puts about $10 billion in retail sales up for grabs.

"We'll look at that very carefully depending on the brand and with the location," CNBC reported.

He offered no details, but said Macy's may increase the number of categories in its stores.

Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney and Stage Stores have filed for bankruptcy protection.

Penney plans to close about 240 stores, or about 30 percent of its locations. Nordstrom plans to shut 16 stores permanently. Pier 1 Imports said it plans to liquidate after it couldn't find a buyer.

In early trading, Macy's stock gained 1.29 percent.