US open: Major indices on track for losing week

Wall Street stocks were mixed after the opening bell on Friday as major indices were on track for a losing week as market participants continued to weigh the chances of a more aggressive stance against inflation by the Federal Reserve.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.13% at 34,628.91, while the S&P 500 was 0.29% weaker at 4,487.08 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.00% softer at 13,758.87.

The Dow opened 45.34 points higher on Friday, narrowly building on gains recorded in the previous session when investors mulled over the Fed's latest meeting minutes.

Those same comments from the central bank at its March meeting were still in focus at the open, with the minutes revealing that policymakers planned to cut their bond holdings by a consensus amount of about $95.0bn per month and also indicating potential interest rate hikes of 50 basis points in future meetings.

Also drawing an amount of investor attention was news that at least 30 people had been killed and more than 100 wounded following a rocket attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, according to the state railway company. Ukrainian officials laid the blame on Russia for the attack, stating it took place as civilians were attempting to evacuate to safer parts of the country. Russia has denied any involvement in the strike.

On the macro front, US wholesale inventories increased 2.50% month-on-month in February to $818.2bn, according to the Census Bureau, while January's print was revised to show a 1.2% increase to $798.6bn.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday but traders were looking ahead to earnings season, which will kick off next week, with reports from JPMorgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo all due to report before the week is out.