Investors moved into US government debt and Wall Street stocks and the dollar were muted on Friday as investors refined their reaction to first-quarter US growth and inflation data.

Workplace message app Slack took the wraps off its planned direct listing on Friday, joining the growing list of tech unicorns that have been beating a path to Wall Street this year.

Chevron, the US oil and gas group, has reported earnings for the first quarter that were down 27 per cent, hit by a squeeze on margins at its refining and chemicals operations, but above analysts’ expectations.

Ford said on Friday the US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into a possible issue involving the automaker’s emissions certification process.

The US economy defied fears of a first-quarter slowdown, overcoming a prolonged government shutdown, trade tensions and global economic uncertainty to deliver growth that trounced analysts’ estimates.

ExxonMobil, the world’s largest listed oil company, has reported disappointing earnings for the first quarter of 2019, hit by a slump into loss in its refining operations as profit margins were crushed.

A weaker Swedish currency drove up monthly prices in March with the cost of imports and exports rising in the Scandinavian nation, the official statistical agency said.

Archer Daniels Midland, the international agricultural trader, reported a 40 per cent fall in first-quarter earnings and said it plans to break off its ethanol business into a separate unit with the view of spinning it off.

American Airlines cut its full-year profit outlook on Friday as it warned that it expects to take a $350m hit from the recent grounding of Boeing 737 Max jetliners and that fuel costs will be $650m higher than previously forecast.

TSB’s owner Sabadell said the bank had “regained its commercial momentum” in the first three months of this year, returning to profit and dealing with the last of the complaints related to a disastrous IT upgrade last year.

Turkey’s central bank has confirmed it began engaging in billions of dollars in short-term borrowing last month, bulking out its reserves during a time when the lira was wobbling amid contentious local elections and concerns were growing over its financial defences.

Second time lucky? Sometimes, the market can confound even the best efforts of Goldman Sachs.

The price of oil slipped on Friday, more than offsetting Thursday’s gains on a “knee-jerk” reaction to the suspension of some Russian exports on quality concerns.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said on Friday that the Easter Sunday bombings were carried out by Isis, in the most explicit government confirmation that the group was behind the devastating attacks. 

Sony warned of declining profits in the 12 months ahead as slowing PlayStation 4 sales and costs to develop a next-generation gaming console put a brake on a two-year run of record earnings.

WPP has taken a further sales hit from client losses as the advertising group battles to return to growth following the departure last year of founder Martin Sorrell.

Pearson reported a small rise in revenue and confirmed its guidance for the year as the educational group continues to restructure into a digital publisher.

AstraZeneca reported its third successive quarter of sales growth on the back of demand for its new cancer drugs and a strong showing in emerging markets, especially China.

Total, the French energy major, reported a 4 per cent drop in first-quarter earnings amid “volatile” oil and gas prices and an increase in debt costs, even as production hit a new record.

Weaker expansion in its UK business dragged down overall growth at food delivery group Just Eat in the first quarter of 2019.

Profits at Royal Bank of Scotland fell less than expected in the first quarter, but shares in the bank stumbled as it reported weak revenues and warned that uncertainty created by Brexit was likely to have a further impact in the coming quarters.

Renault reported a decline in revenue and unit sales in the first quarter after withdrawing from Iran, weakness in some emerging markets and currency fluctuations.

Another potential buyer has emerged for Glencore’s CSA copper mine in Australia.

Daimler has reported a slump in first quarter earnings, as the German company joins other global carmakers plagued by falling sales in China and flat markets in the Europe and the US.