Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, as investors remained cautious ahead of upcoming U.S. consumer sentiment data, while Thursday's downbeat spending report prompted downward revisions to U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 edged down 0.08%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.16%, while the NASDAQ Composite dipped 0.02%.
Data on Thursday showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.2% last month, below expectations for an increase of 0.4%. Personal spending for April was revised to a flat reading from a previously reported decline of 0.1%.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor showing that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 21 declined by 2,000 to 312,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 314,000.
Dupont Fabros Technology (NYSE:DFT) shares egded up 0.15% after the maker of Pioneer genetically modified corn said second-quarter operating profit will be "moderately" less than a year earlier, due to disappointing seed sales.
Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW) added to gains, up 8.48%, amid reports the maker of cranes and commercial-food appliances has been targeted by activist shareholder Relational Investors LLC.
According to a regulatory filing, Relational has amassed 8.5% of Manitowoc and has met with management.
Elsewhere, GoPro rallied 5.48% after skyrocketing over 30% on Thursday when the maker of cameras made its market debut.
In earnings news, Nike (NYSE:NKE) was up 2.51% after reporting late Thursday a rise in quarterly profit, thanks to strong sales of its apparel and footwear in North America and Western Europe.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 eased 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.02%, Germany's DAX added 0.14%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.28%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.10%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeted 1.39%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release revised data on consumer sentiment.