Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, as markets eyed an upcoming report on U.S. consumer sentiment, although uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve's will taper its stimulus program this month weighed.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29%, the S&P 500 index added 0.16%, while the Nasdaq Composite index eased up 0.06%.
Official data earlier showed that U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% in August, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% rise, after an upwardly revised 0.4% increase the previous month, while core retail sales, excluding automobiles, rose 0.1% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.3% gain.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose 0.3% in August, more than the expected 0.2%, after a flat reading the previous month, while core producer price inflation, excluding food and energy, was flat last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise.
The data came as investor focus was turning to the Fed's upcoming policy meeting next week, amid growing uncertainty over whether the U.S. central bank will start to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Verizon shares rallied 0.97% after the stock was upgraded to "overweight" by Evercore Partners, following the company's purchase of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless.
BlackRock and Pimco reportedly bought at least a quarter of Verizon's record USD49 billion bond offering, used to refinance the acquisition.
Intel added to gains, surging 2.05% after the tech giant was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies, which raised its price target for the chip-maker to USD30 from USD27 per share.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Twitter, as the social media messaging site said it had filed for an initial public offering (IPO).
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.03%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.04% lower, Germany's DAX edged up 0.09%, while Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.24%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.17% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.12%.
Separately, concerns over Syria persisted as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov continued talks on disarming Syria's chemical weapons program.
Commenting on the negociations, Kerry said pledges of Syria's regime to give up its chemical arms were "simply not enough."
Later in the day, the University of Michigan was to release preliminary data on consumer sentiment.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29%, the S&P 500 index added 0.16%, while the Nasdaq Composite index eased up 0.06%.
Official data earlier showed that U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% in August, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% rise, after an upwardly revised 0.4% increase the previous month, while core retail sales, excluding automobiles, rose 0.1% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.3% gain.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose 0.3% in August, more than the expected 0.2%, after a flat reading the previous month, while core producer price inflation, excluding food and energy, was flat last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise.
The data came as investor focus was turning to the Fed's upcoming policy meeting next week, amid growing uncertainty over whether the U.S. central bank will start to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Verizon shares rallied 0.97% after the stock was upgraded to "overweight" by Evercore Partners, following the company's purchase of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless.
BlackRock and Pimco reportedly bought at least a quarter of Verizon's record USD49 billion bond offering, used to refinance the acquisition.
Intel added to gains, surging 2.05% after the tech giant was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies, which raised its price target for the chip-maker to USD30 from USD27 per share.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Twitter, as the social media messaging site said it had filed for an initial public offering (IPO).
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.03%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.04% lower, Germany's DAX edged up 0.09%, while Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.24%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.17% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.12%.
Separately, concerns over Syria persisted as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov continued talks on disarming Syria's chemical weapons program.
Commenting on the negociations, Kerry said pledges of Syria's regime to give up its chemical arms were "simply not enough."
Later in the day, the University of Michigan was to release preliminary data on consumer sentiment.