US open: Stocks mixed as CPI remains in focus

Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Friday as investors continued to digest yesterday's cooler-than-expected CPI reading and mulled over a series of international headlines.

As of 1510 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.24% at 33,636.09, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.15% to 3,962.17 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.40% stronger at 11,159.14.

The Dow opened 79.28 points lower on Friday, taking a small bite out of gains recorded in the previous session but leaving major indices on track for a winning week.

Stocks delivered their biggest one-day rally since 2020 on Thursday following the revelation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that consumer prices had risen softer than expected in October, giving traders some hope that inflation may be slowing down. Treasury yields dropped on the news, while tech stocks surged.

Underlining sentiment on Friday was news that Chinese stocks and the renminbi had pushed higher after the Politburo Standing Committee issued new guidance aimed at better implementing its Zero-Covid policy. China has shortened quarantine times for close contacts of coronavirus cases and for inbound travellers, and also scrapped a penalty on airlines that bring in infected passengers. Casino stocks rallied on the news.

Also in focus, America's top general believes he sees scope for diplomatic talks between Kyiv and Moscow. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, reportedly said: "we don't know what the future holds, but we think there are some possibilities here for some diplomatic solutions." He also said that Russia's withdrawal, possibly in preparation for a spring offensive, together with the G-20 summit scheduled for the following week, presented "a window of opportunity for negotiation".

On the macro front, a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell from 59.9 in October to 54.7 in November.

In the corporate space, Real Good Food said its net loss had widened by $1.3m to $13.1m in the third quarter as it reaffirmed full-year guidance for net sales to be at the lower end of its $155.0m-160.0m range.

Cryptocurrencies also struggled after FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried retired and the group announced that it was filing for bankruptcy.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com