Nasdaq falls on weak tech earnings; oil lifts Dow

The Nasdaq tumbled Friday following disappointing earnings from Google parent Alphabet and from Microsoft, but higher oil prices helped lift the Dow and S&P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 21.23 points (0.12 percent) to 18,003.75.

The broad-based S&P 500 was essentially flat at 2,091.58, up 0.10 of a point, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 39.66 (0.80 percent) to 4,906.23.

Alphabet shares lost 5.3 percent after reporting earnings per share that lagged analyst expectations, while Microsoft tumbled 7.2 percent as it reported a 25 percent plunge in quarterly profits to $3.8 billion.

But oil prices pushed higher, lifting Dow members ExxonMobil and Chevron by 0.9 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.

"The market is basically trying to keep its head above water, but there are a lot of cross-currents," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial.

"There's a ray of hope because oil is going up, and that could be a sign the economy is going to improve."

American Airlines fell 4.5 percent as executives warned of toughening competition, projecting a decline of six to eight percent in the second quarter in closely watched passenger unit revenues.

General Electric dipped 0.7 percent as it reported a loss of $98 million in the first quarter and highlighted the drag from its oil and gas business. Industrial profits were $3.3 billion, down 6.9 percent.

Caterpillar shed 0.4 percent after it trimmed its 2016 sales and revenue forecast as the global mining slump and a downturn in the construction business hit results. First-quarter net income came in at $271 million, down from $1.25 billion in the year-ago period.

Other companies that reported earnings included Starbucks, which fell 4.9 percent, Visa, which lost 2.1 percent and Honeywell, which shed 0.7 percent.

In non-earnings news, Perrigo dropped 5.7 percent following reports that Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is close to hiring Perrigo chief executive Joseph Papa to replace outgoing Valeant chief Michael Pearson. Valeant rose 7.9 percent.