US open: Stocks trade higher despite consumer sentiment slump
Updated : 15:25
Wall Street stocks opened slightly higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both on course to turn in a winning week.
As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.09% at 35,531.75, while the S&P 500 was 0.15% firmer at 4,467.60 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.23% stronger at 14,850.14.
The Dow opened 31.90 points higher on Friday, adding to modest gains recorded in the previous session as market participants thumbed over this week's jobless report and July's producer price index.
Both the blue-chip Dow Jones and S&P 500 were on track to close out the week in positive territory, up 0.08% and 0.6% at the end of trading on Thursday, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was in the red 0.1% for the week overnight.
On the macro front, the price of goods purchased overseas rose by less than expected last month despite the higher cost of fuel imports. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms the US import price index increased at a month-on-month pace of 0.3% in July. Economists had forecast a rise of 0.6%.
On the export side of the equation, prices increased by 1.3% on the month, despite a 1.7% fall in the price of agricultural imports.
Elsewhere, a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index revealed consumer sentiment had fallen to its lowest level in almost a decade in early August, with Americans growing concerned about the economy's prospects, inflation and a recent surge in coronavirus cases. The preliminary sentiment index fell by 11 points to 70.2, the lowest since December 2011 and well short of estimates.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was trading slightly lower at 1.325% following the data points.
In the corporate space, entertainment giant Disney posted blowout quarterly earnings overnight, beating expectations for subscriber growth, revenues and earnings, while Airbnb shares were in the red after warning of volatility stemming from the Covid-19 delta variant.