US open: Stocks flat as investors eye G20 finance ministers meeting

US stocks were little changed on Friday as investors eyed the G20 meeting of finance ministers and oil rig count data.

On opening, the indices started up less than 0.1%, but they secured weekly gains with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq set for advances of 0.2, 0.4% and 0.7% over the past five-day stretch.

At 1540 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 20,916.15, the S&P 500 rose 0.12% to 2,378.41 and the Nasdaq was 0.13% firmer at 5,893.02.

In currency markets, the dollar was flat against the pound at 0.8087, rose 0.27% versus the euro to 0.9314, and fell 0.64% against the yen to 112.59.

Investors were likely to focus on US President Donald Trump’s intentions when it comes to global trade as the two-day G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank officials kicked-off in Baden-Baden.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is to set out what the "America First" trade stance actually means at the G20 meeting, which, in short, means that the "US doesn't want a trade war – they just want to export much more and/or import much less", according to analysts at Rabobank.

While, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that China does not want a trade war either but he did not say that the country would import more and export less.

"With so much at stake, it seems quite likely we will get lots of smiles and handshakes and bon-mots and homilies from Baden-Baden. However, the quandary of how we solve our underlying problems, from populism to the structure of the global economy, is not going to be resolved," Rabobank said.

Elsewhere, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was set to meet Trump in Washington after their initial meeting was postponed due to storm Stella on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate futures traded just shy of $50 after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih hinted earlier in the day that the OPEC could extend its agreement to reduce output, if stockpiles remain above the five-year average, ahead of the cartel’s next meeting on 25 May.

"In dearth of further reaction from the world’s biggest oil cartel, investors could be reluctant to bet on a price recovery above the $50 level. The barrel is expected to float at about the 200-day moving average, $49," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, said.

Investors were also eyeing data releases of active US rigs drilling for oil by Baker Hughes later on Friday.

WTI and Brent crude were both flat at $48.77 per barrel and $51.74, respectively.

On the data front, the consumer sentiment index rose to 97.6 from 96.3 in February and 91.0 in January 2016, beating expectations for a reading of 97.0.

The current economic conditions index increased to 114.5 from 111.5 the month before and 105.6 in the same month last year. The index of consumer expectations nudged up to 86.7 from 86.5 in February and 81.5 in March last year.

US industrial production was unchanged in February, below the 0.2% consensus forecast and following a 0.1% revised decrease in January.

The index of leading indicators rose 0.6%, slightly above the 0.5% consensus.

In corporate news, Tiffany's gained 3.2% after its fourth-quarter results beat expectations.

Software company Adobe Systems rose 5.39% as its quarterly numbers released late on Thursday surpassed analysts' forecasts.