US open: Stocks record early gains as Intel results bolster sentiment
US stocks opened higher on Friday as investors mulled over the latest quarterly figures from the likes of Microsoft and Tesla, as well as a disappointing set of results from Amazon.
As of 1535 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.34% at 26,896.04, while the S&P 500 had gained 0.17% to 3,015.54 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.27% firmer at 8,2017.75.
The Dow opened 90.51 points higher on Friday after closing lower in the previous session, the busiest day of the earnings season, amid fresh headlines around the ongoing US-China trade talks.
Market focus for Friday was set to be much the same as it had been for the rest of the week, with Intel shares shooting up 5% on the back of some better-than-expected earnings, while Visa slid 1% despite posting better than expected revenues and profits.
Phillips, Verizon, Piper Jaffray and VF Corp were also all set to report their latest quarterly earnings throughout the course of the day.
With nearly a third of corporates in the US having reported thus far in the current earnings season, initial results pointed to a positive 5% earnings surprise, according to JP Morgan's Mislav Matejka
However, market participants were still monitoring US-Sino trade relations after Vice President Mike Pence said Washington was not looking to escalate tensions with Beijing as both nations sought to work towards a binding trade deal.
But hopes for an upcoming phase one trade deal were dampened after Pence later voiced solidarity with Hong Kong protesters and attacked China's "aggressive and destabilising" policies.
In parallel, Congress voted in favour of legislation to prohibit American companies from selling munition equipment, such as tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets, to authorities in Hong Kong.
AxiTrader analyst Stephen Innes said: "The US and China have isolated issues from the broader tariff negotiation, Huawei for example. While the Hong Kong issue is exponentially larger than Huawei until more clarity unfolds this could be compartmentalised away from trade talks along with the growing laundry list of US grievances against China."
Eyes were also being cast across the pond as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was said to be planning to ask the House of Commons on Monday to vote to hold a general election on 12 December, but he will require a two-thirds majority in order for his proposal to pass.
In the event of a successful vote, the government will continue to try and pass the current Withdrawal Agreement until parliament is dissolved on 6 November. If it is unsuccessful, the debate on the WA will be frozen and Westminster will be turned into a "zombie parliament".
On the data front, US consumer sentiment improved in October, albeit by a touch less than initially estimated, according to final figures released by the University of Michigan on Friday.
The consumer sentiment index rose to 95.5 from 93.2 in September, but was down from last October's reading of 98.6 and from the initial estimate of 96.
The index of current economic conditions printed at 113.2 this month from 108.5 in September and 113.1 in October 2018.