US open: Stocks trade higher as China cuts key mortgage interest rate

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Friday but the Dow Jones was still on track to register its eighth-consecutive losing week despite news that China had cut its key mortgage interest rate bolstering sentiment.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.10% at 31,284.19, while the S&P 500 was 0.27% firmer at 3,911.47, and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.26% stronger at 11,418.66.

The Dow opened 31.06 points higher on Friday, taking a small bite out of losses recorded in the previous session as softer-than-expected earnings from big-name retailers continued to weigh on sentiment.

Stocks got a slight boost following news that China had cut its key benchmark mortgage interest rate overnight after Covid-related shutdowns pounded the country's economy.

The People's Bank of China cut its five-year loan prime rate, its mortgage reference rate, by a bigger-than-expected 15 basis points, to 4.45%, and left the one-year rate unchanged at 3.7%. Analysts had been expecting a five basis points reduction across both tenures.

In the corporate space, sportswear retailer Foot Locker posted first-quarter earnings of $133.0m ahead of the bell, beating Wall Street expectations, while revenues of $2.17bn fell short of consensus estimates.

No major data points were slated for release on Friday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $159.33 2.40%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $108.89 2.30%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $170.46 2.16%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $94.07 2.15%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $140.27 2.13%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $258.26 2.02%
Visa Inc. (V) $200.72 1.70%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.41 1.65%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $484.99 1.35%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $120.18 0.93%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $123.57 -2.81%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $202.40 -2.11%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $285.42 -0.81%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $129.07 -0.46%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $41.85 -0.38%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $244.07 -0.29%
American Express Co. (AXP) $153.85 -0.10%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
3M Co. (MMM) $147.13 0.11%

S&P 500 - Risers

Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $31.94 5.43%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $287.18 4.37%
VF Corp. (VFC) $46.45 4.12%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $52.56 3.78%
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $296.74 3.66%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $37.25 3.30%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $71.76 3.24%
Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) $196.92 2.94%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $27.67 2.94%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $405.00 2.69%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $71.60 -22.76%
Deere & Co. (DE) $331.32 -9.13%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $41.60 -7.64%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $188.66 -6.29%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $127.69 -5.81%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $14.18 -5.73%
TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) $58.03 -5.50%
AutoZone Inc. (AZO) $1,787.97 -5.37%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $187.11 -4.57%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $21.67 -4.24%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $99.07 3.90%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $829.53 3.49%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $21.69 3.38%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $169.85 3.24%
Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) $196.92 2.94%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $123.88 2.71%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $405.00 2.69%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $374.22 2.57%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $15.30 2.55%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $54.03 2.38%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $71.60 -22.76%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $127.69 -5.81%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $582.73 -3.13%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $108.18 -2.32%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $344.40 -1.97%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $85.16 -1.84%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $81.07 -1.74%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $168.53 -1.58%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $80.40 -1.25%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $702.55 -0.97%