US stock indexes end strong week with tiny gains

US stock indexes end strong week with tiny gains

U.S. stock indexes marked their fourth- consecutive gain Friday, an upbeat finish for a week that got off to a turbulent start as investors fretted about Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

In the days since the two-day market tumble ended Tuesday, the U.S. stock market came close to regaining all the ground lost since the vote last week. It ended the week up 3 percent, its biggest weekly gain since November.

The main stock indexes in Europe posted even bigger gains this week, with British stocks recouping all their losses along the way.

US manufacturing accelerated in June

WASHINGTON

American manufacturing expanded for the fourth-straight month in June, hitting the strongest reading in 16 months as the outlook for new orders and production improved.

The Institute for Supply Management said Friday its manufacturing index rose to 53.2 last month from 51.3 in May. Anything above 50 signals growth.

The report suggests U.S. factories are showing some signs of stability after being pummeled at the beginning of last year by a rising dollar, shuttered oil production and weak global economic growth.

Court freezes Facebook’s funds

SAO PAULO

A Brazilian news site says a federal court has ordered more than $6 million in Facebook funds frozen because its popular messaging service WhatsApp failed to turn over messages sought in a drug case.

The G1 news site says the order to freeze Facebook’s accounts was issued Thursday night. The court in the southern state of Parana said it had no immediate comment, and Facebook said it would not comment.

Police have said that WhatsApp repeatedly has defied orders to turn over messages sent and received by suspected members of a drug trafficking gang.

The frozen $6.1 million is equal to WhatsApp’s accumulated fines for refusing to comply.

US construction spending fell in May

WASHINGTON

U.S. construction spending fell for a second month in May, with weakness hitting all areas of building.

Construction spending declined 0.8 percent in May after a 2 percent tumble in April, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The April figure had been the biggest monthly setback in five years.

The back-to-back declines in overall construction caught analysts by surprise. They had been expecting a rebound after the big drop in April. Economists, however, still expect construction to contribute meaningful growth to the overall economy this year.

Spending on housing was flat as a 1.8 percent advance in apartment construction was offset by a 1.3 percent fall in single-family activity. Nonresidential construction was down 0.7 percent, with a contraction in the category that includes shopping centers.

Wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .129.55.28

Aqua America, .71 35.29 —.37

Avalon Holdings,2.33.0034

Cortland Bancorp, .2815.45.45

Farmers Nat., .168.80 .00

First Energy, 1.44 35.13.22

Fifth/Third, .5217.43—.16

FirstMerit Corp., .6820.09 —.18

First Niles Financial, .128.75.00

FNB Corp., .4812.39—.15

General Motors, 1.5228.89.59

General Electric, .9231.49.01

Huntington Bank, .28 8.83—.11

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.12 —.18

JP Morgan Chase, 1.9261.26—.40

Key Corp, .3410.96—.09

LaFarge, .3417.57 .00

Macy’s, 1.51 33.60—.01

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 109.341.29

PNC, 2.0480.93—.43

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.40217.14.24

Stoneridge 15.38 .44

Talmer Bank, .20 18.84—.33

United Comm. Fin., .10 6.04—.04

Selected prices from Friday’s 4 p.m. close.