NEW YORK, April 26 — Wall Street stocks dipped early today as a batch of mixed earnings offset better-than-expected US economic growth data.

About 45 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2 per cent to 26,410.00.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to 2,922.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.4 per cent to 8,087.15.

US growth came in at 3.2 per cent in the January-March period, smashing economists’ expectations and surpassing the 2.2 per cent growth in the final quarter of 2018, the Commerce Department said it its initial estimate.

The data pushed aside fears of a near-term US recession.

Still, stocks were under pressure, with Dow members Intel and Exxon Mobil dropping 9.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively after disappointing earnings reports.

Others to decline after results included Starbucks and American Airlines.

But Ford surged 10 per cent after it reported better-than-expected profits.

Investors also overlooked the automaker’s disclosure that the US Department of Justice had opened a criminal probe into the company’s emissions certification process. — AFP