US open: Stocks in the red as earnings onslaught continues

Wall Street stocks were in the red early on Friday as market participants thumbed through yet another slew of corporate earnings.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.52% at 33,882.52, while the S&P 500 was 0.49% weaker at 4,190.82 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.17% softer at 14,058.57.

The Dow opened 177.84 points lower on Friday, cutting into gains recorded in the previous session.

Amazon shares were in the green after the online retail giant reported first-quarter profits had more than tripled to $8.1bn, while January-to-March sales soared 44% to $108.0bn and earnings per share blew past Wall Street estimates of $9.54 at $15.79 per share.

Going the other way, Twitter posted user growth results and second-quarter revenue guidance that came in shy of expectations on the Street, while Apple was under the cosh after the European Union stated the tech giant's App Store had breached EU competition rules.

Chevron earnings came in mixed amid rallying oil prices, while Colgate-Palmolive shares were in the green after both quarterly sales and profits topped expectations.

On the macro front, Americans continued spending at a frenzied pace in March as another round of government stimulus checks arrived in the mail. According to the Department of Commerce, personal incomes in the US soared at a month-on-month pace of 21.1%, slightly outpacing economists' median forecasts for an increase of 20.1%.

Personal consumption expenditures rebounded by 4.2% on the month, while the headline rate on the PCE price deflator accelerated from a year-on-year gain of 1.6% for March to 2.4% in April and at the 'core' level, prices climbed at an annual pace of 1.8% versus 1.4% in the month before.

Elsewhere, manufacturing sector activity in the Chicago area accelerated at its quickest pace for nearly four decades in April, according to Market News International's Chicago Business Barometer, which jumped from a March print of 66.4 to 72.1 - its highest reading since December 1983.

Lastly, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index registered at 88.3 in April, above expectations for a print of 87.5, adding weight to arguments that household spending looked set to remain strong over the coming months as vaccinations quicken and more states and businesses reopen.