The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index opened in the green on Friday ahead of the Iran-US peace talk scheduled to happen on Saturday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.24% at open to trade at 6,841.10, Nasdaq opened 0.42% higher at 22,917.56, whereas Dow Jones Industrial Average opened little changed at 48,178.14.
US Vice President JD Vance has departed for Pakistan to lead Washington's delegation in crucial peace talks with Iran, as efforts intensify to stabilise a fragile ceasefire in the Gulf region
“We won't be receptive if Iran tries to play us,” Vance said ahead of departure, underscoring the firm stance adopted under directives from US President Donald Trump.
As of 10:11 a.m. EST, Dow S&P 500 pared some gains to trade 0.10% higher at 6,832.51, while Nasdaq was up 0.5% at 22,935.15, and Dow slipped 0.2% to 48,081.6.
A peak into inflation figures revealed that the war-fueled spike in energy costs matched expectations, lifting investor sentiment a bit more.
ALSO READ: US CPI Surges 0.9% In Largest Monthly Jump Since 2022 On Gas
While US inflation saw the sharpest spike in nearly four years in March, the 0.9% rise in the consumer price index from February was in line with estimates.
"There are no signs, yet, that high energy prices are seeping into core inflation," Brian Jacobsen at Annex Wealth Management told news agency Bloomberg.
After the market opened, six out of the 11 sectoral indices traded in the green, while five traded lower. Gains were led by the Information Technology and Materials sector, while the Financials sector and Consumer Staples sector led the decline.
Almost all of the magnificent seven stocks rose, with Nvidia Corp. surging over 2% to $187.64 and Amazon.com Inc. jumping 1.8% to $237.
Meta Platforms Inc. rose 0.6% to $631.44, Tesla Inc. was up 0.52% to $347.5, Meta Platforms Inc. traded 0.53% higher at $631.63. Shares of Apple Inc. traded 0.16% higher at $261.08, after opening lower, while Microsoft Corp. slipped 0.23% to $372.21.
Oil prices also edged upwards after corrections on Thursday. Global Benchmark Brent Crude traded 0.10% higher at $96.02 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was up 0.33% to $98.19 a barrel.
The Dollar Spot Index weakened against global currencies to fall 0.2%, while euro rose 0.3% to $1.1733, the British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3474, and the Japanese yen was little changed at 159.11 per dollar.
Bitcoin, the largest traded cryptocurrency, fell 0.2% to $72,317.16.
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