U.S. stocks open higher after five-day losing streak

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher Friday after five straight sessions of losses, boosted by better-than-expected quarterly earnings from a major U.S. bank and subdued inflationary pressure in the country.

Before the opening bell, the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. reported fourth-quarter net revenues of 7.69 billion U.S. dollars, down from 8.78 billion dollars a year ago.

Net earnings for the fourth quarter were 2.17 billion dollars, or 4.38 dollars per diluted common share, both lower than the year-ago period. However, the bank's results still beat analysts' expectations.

On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers declined 0.4 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, led by plunging gasoline prices, the U.S. Labor Department said.

Investors hoped that a lack of inflationary pressure could make the Federal Reserve stick to its patient stance in normalizing monetary policy.

Moreover, U.S. industrial production decreased 0.1 percent in December after rising 1.3 percent in November, the Fed reported.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 26.62 points, or 0.15 percent, to 17,347.33. The S&P 500 rose 4.15 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1996.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9.94 points, or 0.22 percent, to 4,580.77.

On the previous day, U.S. stocks dropped, with the S&P 500 closing below the round-number mark of 2,000 points for the first time in a month, weighed by disappointing banks' earnings, negative retail sales, sliding oil prices and the Swiss National Bank's surprise move to scrap the cap of Swiss franc against the euro. Endi