US open: Stocks advance, major indices on course to end week in the green

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Friday, putting major indices on track for a winning week.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.21% at 34,536.57, while the S&P 500 was 0.14% firmer at 4,206.96 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.28% stronger at 13,774.90.

The Dow opened 71.93 points higher on Friday, extending gains recorded in the previous session after investors mulled over some better-than-expected jobless data from the Department of Labor.

In focus ahead of the bell, Salesforce shares moved higher in early trading after posting first-quarter earnings that came in ahead of expectations on the Street, while HP stock traded lower despite reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results.

AMC stock rallied and GameStop shares slid amid a resurgence in speculative trading.

Back-and-forth discussions in Washington regarding the White House's comprehensive infrastructure package were also drawing an amount of investor attention at the open after Senate Republicans unveiled a $928.0bn infrastructure counteroffer on Thursday. However, that figure was still well below Joe Biden's most recent proposal of $1.7trn.

Biden was also expected to announce an impressive $6.0trn budget at 1900 BST.

On the macro front, April's core personal consumption expenditures index rose a faster-than-expected 3.1%, higher than estimates for a print of 2.9% and ahead of March's advance of 1.9%, according to the Commerce Department. The increase was seen as a result of price pressures building as the US economy continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve considers 2% to be healthy.

Also from the Commerce Department, the US trade deficit in goods jumped 4% month-on-month to a record high in March of $90.6bn, with exports increasing 8.7% to $142.0bn and imports advancing 6.8% to $232.6bn.

Elsewhere, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that personal income had contracted by 13.1% in April, slightly better than market expectation for a decline of 14.1%, while personal spending, which was up 4.7% in March, rose by just 0.5% in April, as expected.

Still on data, economic activity in the Chicago area unexpectedly improved in May, according to data released on Friday. The MNI Chicago business barometer rose to 75.2 from 72.1 the month before, hitting its highest level since November 1973 and beating expectations for a reading of 68.0.

Lastly, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index slipped in May, dropping to 82.9 from 88.3 in April, reflecting expectations of rising prices over the coming year.