US open: Stocks mostly higher as bank earnings continue to roll in

Wall Street futures were mixed open early on Friday amid more solid first-quarter report cards from some of the nation's largest lenders.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.36% at 34,158.07, while the S&P 500 was 0.21% firmer at 4,179.02 and the Nasdaq Composite started out the session 0.10% weaker at 14,024.49.

The Dow opened 122.08 points higher on Friday, extending gains recorded in the previous session thanks to some better-than-expected jobless claims data and corporate results.

Corporate earnings were again at the forefront of investors' minds, with banking giant Morgan Stanley topped first-quarter earnings estimates on Friday thanks to some better-than-expected investment banking and trading results and Bank of New York Mellon beating expectations despite declining revenues as the company released money set aside for bad debts.

Data out of China was in focus prior early on Friday, with the Asian nation posting an incredible 18.3% GDP reading thanks to its ability to both suppress Covid-19 and stimulate its economy to outperform throughout the pandemic, partly due to its reliance on manufacturing - a major benefactor of stimulus programmes amid services-sector lockdowns. China also revealed a huge 34.2% jump in retail sales.

Also in focus, US Treasury yields tumbled to a one-month low on Thursday and were down again at around 1.56% early on Friday.

On the macro front, housing starts jumped 19.4% in March to a 1.74m annualised rate, their highest level since 2006, exceeding forecasts for a 1.61m pace, while applications to build also climbed, according to the Commerce Department.

Elsewhere, consumer sentiment increased to a one-year high in early April amid strengthening economic growth, according to the University of Michigan, which said a preliminary reading of its consumer sentiment index rose to 86.5 in the first half of the month from a final reading of 84.9 in March.