NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks are taking small losses Thursday morning as global markets skid. Several companies were moving after announcing deals. Facebook is jumping after the social network reported that its profit nearly tripled in the first quarter.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 51 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,990 as of 10:25 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1 point to 2,094. The Nasdaq composite, which has fallen for five days in a row, rose 10 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,873.
ECONOMY SLOWS: The U.S. economy grew a bit less than expected in the first quarter. The government said gross domestic product increased just 0.5 percent as consumer spending slowed down, exports kept falling, and business investment plunged. That's the weakest result in two years, but experts think the economy will bounce back in the current quarter.
DEALS, DEALS, DEALS: Most of the morning's big deals were in health care. In the largest, medical device maker Abbott Laboratories said it will buy St. Jude Medical for $19.3 billion, combining Abbott's heart devices, heart valve products and infant formula business with St. Jude's heart failure and heart rhythm device products.
The deal valued St. Jude stock at $46.75 per share, and it rocketed $17.09, or 27.6 percent, to $79.04 while Abbott fell $2.99, or 6.8 percent, to $40.84.
French drugmaker Sanofi went public with an offer to buy cancer drug maker Medivation for $9.3 billion, or $52.50 per share. Medivation, the maker of the prostate cancer medication Xtandi, added $3.54, or 6.8 percent, to $55.59 and Sanofi slid 47 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $43.15.
Drugmaker AbbVie said it will buy privately-held Stemcentrx for $5.8 billion. Stemcentrx is developing a drug that uses stem cells to treat small cell lung cancer. AbbVie stock dipped 42 cents to $60.28.
DREAM COME TRUE: Comcast's NBCUniversal unit will buy DreamWorks Animation, the movie studio behind the "Kung Fu Panda" and "How to Train Your Dragon" franchises, for $3.55 billion. DreamWorks, which jumped 17 percent Wednesday, rose another $7.69, or 23.9 percent, to $39.89. Comcast gained 17 cents to $61.47.
JAPAN: Investors were disappointed by the Bank of Japan's decision not to add to its huge economic stimulus program. Investors wanted to see that because inflation and consumer spending are weak, largely because the yen has gotten stronger. That trend continued Thursday.
OVERSEAS: The CAC-40 in France fell 0.7 percent and Germany's DAX was 0.4 percent lower. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.2 percent. The Nikkei 225, Japan's main stock index, tumbled 3.6 percent. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.7 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index eked out a 0.1 percent gain.
LIKE: Facebook's first-quarter profit nearly tripled and its revenue was better than expected. The stock climbed $10.74, or 9.9 percent, to $119.63.
GNC-YA: Nutritional supplement company GNC Holdings plunged after it reported weak first-quarter results, including lower vitamin sales. The company also said it will sell 84 stores to a franchise operator. GNC stock $9.16, or 25.7 percent, to $26.44.
PAY UP: Online payments company PayPal gained $1.08, or 2.7 percent, to $41.09 after its net income and revenue surpassed estimates.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil, which is at its highest prices in almost six months, rose 24 cents to $45.57 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 10 cents to $47.28 a barrel in London.
BONDS, CURRENCIES: Bond prices dipped slightly after a big gain on Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.86 percent from 1.85 percent. The dollar sank to 108.58 yen from 111.34 yen and the euro rose to $1.1331 from $1.1323.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay