U.S. stocks higher ahead of data; Dow Jones up 0.15%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, as investors awaited the release of U.S. economic data later in the day, although earlier comments by a regional Federal Reserve chairman added to expectations for a near-term end to the U.S. central bank's asset buying program.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.15%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.27%, while the Nasdaq Composite index edged 0.18% higher.

On Thursday, John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said the Fed could begin reducing its monetary easing this summer and end bond buying late this year.

Fresh concerns over the outlook for growth in the U.S. were sparked by a recent string of disappointing economic data.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said on Thursday that its manufacturing index fell to minus 5.2 in May from April’s reading of 1.3, while the Department of Labor said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. rose to a seasonally adjusted 360,000 last week, compared to expectations for an increase to 330,000.

Networking equipment company Cisco Systems added 0.07%, after surging over 12% on Thursday as it reported fiscal third-quarter profit that topped estimates.

Also in the tech sector, Dell edged down 0.15% after reporting a steep drop in quarterly profit after the closing bell as personal computer sales continued to shrink.

Adding to losses, Applied Materials retreated 0.68%, as the largest producer of chipmaking equipment forecast fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that may fall short of some analysts’ estimates.

Among retailers, J.C. Penney plunged 5.32% after saying late Thursday that operating margins plunged in the first quarter while total sales and same-store sales registered double-digit declines.

Elsewhere, financial stocks were broadly higher, as shares in Goldman Sachs climbed 0.51% and Bank of America advanced 0.45%, while Citigroup and JP Morgan gained 0.55% and 0.61% respectively.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 added 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.40%, Germany's DAX edged up 0.04%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.30%.

During the Asian trading session, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index retreated 0.39%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index remained closed for a national holiday.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.