US open: Stocks mixed as investors pause after Thursday's rebound

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Friday, with investors pausing after a strong rebound in the previous session.

As of 1500 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.21% at 49,339.37, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.03% to 6,946.68 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.20% firmer at 23,576.62.

The Dow opened 103.07 points lower on Friday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session, as strong performances from Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and Morgan Stanley helped to repair sentiment in the banking sector after some underwhelming results earlier in the week.

Early gains in some heavyweight tech names were offset by softer moves elsewhere in the market, leaving major indices lacking clear direction at the open.

Market participants were looking to wrap up a busy week after contending with a flurry of headlines out of Washington, ranging from rising geopolitical tensions in Iran and Greenland to renewed concerns over potential threats to the Federal Reserve's independence.

On the macro front, US industrial production growth held steady in December, according to data from the Federal Reserve on Friday, with output increasing more than analysts expected. Industrial production expanded by 0.4% over the month of December, in line with the 0.4% increase registered in November and the second straight month of gains after a 0.3% decrease in October. The growth was comfortably ahead of the 0.1% consensus forecast, and tied for the highest rate of monthly growth since June 2025.

At the same time, capacity utilisation - the percentage of overall production capacity that is actually used - improved to 76.3% from 76.1%, beating the 76.0% consensus forecast. That was the highest rate since July 2025, but still 3.2 percentage points below the long-term average.

Elsewhere, the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index decreased to 37 points in January, down from 39 points in December, with current sales conditions declining one point to 41, sales expectations in the next six months falling three points to 49, and taffic of prospective buyers dropping three points to 23.

In a further sign of ongoing challenges for the housing market, the latest HMI survey also revealed that 40% of builders reported cutting prices in January, unchanged from December, while the average price reduction rose to 6% in January, up from the 5% rate in December.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $303.88 1.99%

American Express Co. (AXP) $361.59 1.18%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $654.04 1.06%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $311.79 0.82%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $459.45 0.61%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.57 0.52%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $75.45 0.27%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $166.44 0.17%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $219.89 0.15%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $70.51 0.05%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $228.10 -2.32%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $109.36 -1.45%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $334.57 -1.30%

Boeing Co. (BA) $245.71 -0.82%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $27.73 -0.75%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.10 -0.66%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $970.31 -0.57%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $307.02 -0.52%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $143.88 -0.52%

3M Co. (MMM) $170.30 -0.46%

S&P 500 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $363.49 7.98%

Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $474.64 6.03%

Eaton Corporation plc (ETN) $345.74 3.68%

Synchrony Financial (SYF) $80.54 3.66%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $331.86 3.60%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $225.29 3.60%

PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) $222.49 3.46%

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $73.01 3.34%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $328.53 2.96%

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $94.11 2.82%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $164.42 -5.38%

Regions Financial Corp. (RF) $27.39 -3.96%

Mosaic Company (MOS) $26.50 -3.92%

State Street Corp. (STT) $131.69 -3.38%

M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) $206.62 -2.80%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $141.50 -2.62%

Prudential Fincl Inc. (PRU) $113.72 -2.33%

Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $28.35 -2.33%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $228.10 -2.32%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $23.68 -2.31%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $363.49 7.98%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $331.86 3.60%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $225.29 3.60%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $328.53 2.96%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,370.51 2.92%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $351.49 2.47%

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $308.39 2.08%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $445.99 1.69%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,569.02 1.56%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $189.93 1.54%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $141.50 -2.62%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $145.79 -2.42%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $23.68 -2.31%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $188.55 -2.16%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $544.07 -1.90%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $28.89 -1.79%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $115.28 -1.78%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $298.68 -1.78%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $94.45 -1.69%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $12.39 -1.51%