Off the wire
• Japan's Hanyu leads short program at ISU figure skating worlds  • Japan, Portugal agree to enhance bilateral ties  • French consumer confidence reaches 5-year high  • Police kill 4 militants in Pakistan's Karachi  • British house prices growth slows to 5.1 pct in March  • China urges the Philippines to withdraw from illegally occupied Nansha Islands  • China Headlines: Silver lining in slowing Chinese economy  • Result of China vs Haiti soccer friendly  • U.S. economic growth unchanged at 2.2 percent in Q4, 2014  • China, Indonesia eye further infrastructure construction cooperation  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. stocks open narrowly higher

Xinhua, March 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened mildly higher on Friday as equities attempted to break the week's decline.

Investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen shortly before closing bell on Friday. Analysts said it seems like anytime Yellen talks the market wants to go up.

The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, unchanged from the second estimate released last month, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Friday.

The GDP growth stays unrevised due to the larger-than-expected increases in exports and personal consumption expenditures and smaller-than-estimated change in private inventories, according to the report.

Later in the morning comes the University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment reading. Analysts expected it may be a little higher than the preliminary reading, due to lower gas prices and financial market volatility.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 19.75 points, or 0.11 percent, to 17,697.98. The S&P 500 gained 2.92 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,059.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14.59 points, or 0.30 percent, to 4,877.96.

U.S. stocks ended mildly lower after volatile trading on Thursday, as investors weighed the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East against an upbeat job report. Endi