US open: Stocks open higher as bellwether JPMorgan Chase tops estimates

US stocks recorded some gains at the open on Friday as bellwether JPMorgan Chase kicked off the first-quarter earnings season in style.

At 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.85% at 26,366.17, while the S&P 500 moved 0.58% firmer and the Nasdaq traded 0.37% stronger at 7,976.98.

The Dow opened 223 points higher on Friday as shares in JPMorgan Chase rallied at the open after the bank's first-quarter profit and revenue beat analysts' expectations. The S&P 500 was just one percentage point shy of topping an all-time high set back in late September.

JPM shares were up 4.12% after revealing that profit had risen 5% to $9.18bn or $2.65 a share, exceeding expectations of around $2.35 a share. Revenue was also up 5%, to $29.9bn, coming in about $1.5bn better than expected.

Wells Fargo was up 2.12% after its first-quarter numbers saw net income climb 14% year-on-year on the back of cost-cutting exercises and a lower than expected drop in revenues.

Anadarko Petroleum shares surged 32.07% at the open after it agreed to be bought by Chevron in a $33bn cash and stock deal.

Walt Disney was also in the green 9.84% after announcing a streaming service aimed at rivalling Netflix, whose shares fell 3.08% in early trade.

Elsewhere, Tracon Pharmaceuticals share tumbled 53.85% in early trade after the company announced the termination of a late-stage trial of a cancer treatment.

Market participants were also digesting some mixed data out of China.

Exports surged past expectations in March, rising 14.2% in US dollar terms from the previous year amid the ongoing trade dispute with the US, following a 20.8% drop in February.

However, imports declined 7.6% compared to a 5.2% fall the month before. Analysts had been expecting exports to rise 6.5% and imports to edge up 0.2%.

Meanwhile, new loans and lending jumped higher in March, with M2 money supply up 8.6% on the year versus expectations for an 8.2% increase, and new loans coming in at 1.69 trillion yuan compared to expectations of 1.25 trillion.

David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB, said: "Compared to levels seen in recent years these figures aren’t actually that elevated, but they do represent a pick-up compared to the latest numbers and suggest the world’s second-largest economy is scaling back on its deleveraging efforts in a bid to bolster growth.

"In itself, this data could be described as only mildly supportive of risk assets but the clear positive market reaction reveals how both equities and crude oil retain a heightened sensitivity to good news at present, while looking through any negatives - a pleasing scenario for bulls."

Elsewhere on the data front, US import prices grew for a third consecutive month in March, driven by higher fuel prices.

The Labor Department revealed that import prices had risen 0.6% in March, boosted by increased fuel costs and industrial supplies, while data for February was upwardly revised to show a 1% increase in import prices, the largest monthly advance in almost three years.

Petroleum prices rose 4.7% last month, slowing from February's 9.7% gain and industrial supplies and materials increased 2.7%

Lastly, US consumer sentiment fell in for the first time in three months in April, falling short of estimates, as the long-term economic outlook dropped to its lowest level in more than twelve months.

The University of Michigan's preliminary sentiment index decreased to 96.9 from last month’s 98.4 reading. Economists had expected a reading of 98.2.

The gauge of current conditions rose to a four-month high of 114.2, while the expectations gauge fell to 85.8.