Markets close flat Friday

NEW YORK, July 30 (UPI) -- U.S. markets closed mixed Friday after the Bureau of Economic Analysis said the U.S. gross domestic product rose just 2.4 percent in the second quarter.

Economists say the growth rate barely puts the U.S. economy on track to break even on employment with the unemployment rate at 9.5 percent.

The figure follows a 2.7 percent growth rate in the first quarter. At 2.4 percent, the figure was slightly below expectations.

At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average was virtually flat, down 1.22 points, 0.01 percent, to 10,465.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.01 percent, 0.07 points, to 1,001.60. The Nasdaq composite index gained 0.13 percent, 3.01 points, to 2,254.70.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,759 stocks advanced and 1,243 declined on a volume of 4.7 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 23/32 to yield 2.905 percent.

The euro fell to $1.3051 from Thursday's $1.3078. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 86.46 yen from Thursday's 86.84 yen.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 1.64 percent, 158.72 points, to 9,537.30.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 index slid 1.05 percent, 55.93 points, to 5,258.02.