Major US stock indexes finished trading slightly below zero

Major US stock indices fell slightly on Friday, as investors held back from taking risky deals on the eve of the first round of the presidential elections in France.

In addition, as it became known today, adjusted for seasonality, the preliminary composite PMI release index from Markit in the US fell to 52.7 in April, compared to 53.0 in March, signaling a further slowdown in production growth in the private sector. The latest reading pointed to the weakest growth since September 2016. The modest growth in the private sector reflected a loss of momentum in the economy of the services sector (preliminary index was 52.5 in April), and manufacturing (preliminary index was 53.4).

At the same time, home sales in the secondary market in the US increased more than expected in March, to the highest level in the last ten years, as more homes appeared on the market and they were quickly bought up by consumers. The National Association of Realtors said on Friday that the volume of home sales in the secondary market grew by 4.4 percent and, subject to seasonal adjustment, reached 5.71 million units last month. Economists forecast sales growth of 2.5% to 5.60 million units in March.

Most components of the DOW index closed in the red (16 of 30). More shares fell shares Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ, -2.33%). The leader of growth was shares of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT, + 1.47%).

Most sectors of the S & P index showed a decline. The conglomerate sector fell most of all (-0.7%). The leader of growth was the utilities sector (+ 0.6%).

At closing:

Dow -0.15% 20.547.76 -30.95

Nasdaq -0.11% 5,910.52 -6.26

S & P -0.30% 2,348.70 -7.14