U.S. stocks open mixed amid economic data

U.S. stocks opened mixed Friday as investors meditated on a batch of economic reports.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all urban consumers increased 0.2 percent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department said Friday. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 2.2 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The index for all items less food and energy (core CPI) increased 0.1 percent in April and 1.9 percent over the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April 2017, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, came in at 474.9 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 0.4 percent from the previous month, and 4.5 percent above April 2016.

In corporate news, the week has been tough for retailers as companies reported quarterly earnings that missed estimates.

Shares of J.C. Penney tumbled 8.11 percent at 4.86 dollars in early trading after the retailer reported mixed quarterly results.

On Thursday, Macy's reported earnings of 23 cents per diluted share, compared with 37 cents per diluted share in the first quarter last year. Shares dropped 17.01 percent to 24.35 dollars in the previous session and continued to drop in early trading Friday.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 25.16 points, or 0.12 percent, to 20,894.26. The S&P 500 erased 3.03 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,391.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.26 points, or 0.04 percent, to 6,118.22. Endi