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U.S. stocks open mixed after weekly gains

Xinhua, March 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened mixed on Monday as investors assessed the impact of currency and crude prices on equities.

Dovish statement from the Federal Reserve helped weaken the U.S. dollar last week, as expectations of a rate hike were pushed back.

U.S. stocks jumped Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index closing at a 15-year high, as investors embraced the dovish Fed comments amid the falling dollar.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.82 percent in early Monday.

Some analyst said the surging dollar is one of the biggest headwinds faced by multinational U.S. corporations, since their earnings have been squeezed by the strengthening greenback.

However, some investors thought equity traders were maybe a little bit too focused on the daily dollar moves.

Oil prices slipped on Monday after Saudi Arabia reiterated it would not unilaterally cut its output to defend prices. Light, sweet crude for May delivery was down 0.37 percent near 46.4 dollars a barrel in the early session.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 22.89 points, or 0.13 percent, to 18,150.54. The S&P 500 gained 1.20 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,109.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 6.93 points, or 0.14 percent, to 5,019.48. Endi