Investing.com - U.S. stocks traded higher just after the open as JP Morgan set the stage for what could be a positive surprise for first-quarter earnings and Chevron’s multibillion-dollar acquisition restored confidence that equities had further to go despite a slowing economy.
At 9:33 AM ET (13:33 GMT), the Dow Jones gained 223 points, or 0.9%, at 26,366.07 points, the S&P 500 rose 16 points, or 0.6%, to 2,904.74 points, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 40 points, or 0.5%, to 7,987.41 points.
JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) saw shares jump 3.6% after the largest U.S. bank by assets smashed consensus with record quarterly profit and sales. The positive start to the first-quarter reporting period eased concerns over what is expected to be, according to FactSet, the first decline in S&P 500 earnings in nearly three years.
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) supported the positive view of financial sector with its own better-than-expected report, while PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC) was the laggard in the group, but still matched profit forecasts.
Chevron (NYSE:CVX) also boosted sentiment as it offered to shell out a cool $33 billion to acquire Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC). The blue-chip oil company saw shares slump 4.8%, setting them at the bottom of the Dow. But shares of its target surged more than 30%.
Apart from JP Morgan, other Dow components stepped up on Friday to outweigh Chevron’s decline and pull the blue-chip index higher.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) stock led advancers on the Dow, surging 10.2% after the company announced the launch date for its new streaming service and priced its offer below Netflix's (NASDAQ:NFLX) basic fee.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) also had positive news for the markets, with shares up 1%, after CEO Dennis Muilenburg said that software updates for its 737 MAX jet were successful in 96 test flights.
Corporate results aside, the health of the U.S. consumer will dominate Friday’s economic calendar. The University of Michigan will release its preliminary measure of April consumer confidence at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT).
The Michigan consumer sentiment index is expected to edge down to 98.1, following two-straight months of gains above expectations, according to economist forecasts compiled by Investing.com.
Outside of equities, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rival currencies, fell 0.4% to 96.43 by 9:37 AM ET (13:37 GMT), while the yield on the 10-year Treasury advanced 4.5 basis points to 2.55%.
In commodities, gold futures edged forward 0.1% to $1,294.45 a troy ounce, while crude oil traded up 1% at $64.19 a barrel.