Stocks opened mixed in a short day of trading on Black Friday.
Close to 9:35 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 is down less than 0.1%, the Dow is up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq is down about 0.5%.
The US stock market will close at 1:00 PM ET on Friday; Financial markets in the United States are closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving.
Stores It finished gaining on Wednesdaythe last full trading session of the week, after minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting indicated a possible slowdown in the pace of interest rate hikes at the December central bank meeting.
No major economic data or earnings reports are expected in the US, although investors and analysts will likely remain alert to early reports about how consumer demand stalled during the Black Friday holiday.
Data from Adobe Analytics released earlier this week showed that consumer spending rose 0.1% year-over-year during the first three weeks of November.
Energy markets remain in focus for investors, with West Texas crude oil up about 0.5% after an earlier move up about 3% early on Friday, a rebound that followed a slide in oil prices on Wednesday toward 2022 lows.
In overseas markets, stocks in Europe were on track to post a sixth straight week of gains.
Investors also traded news overnight that the People’s Bank of China will cut reserve requirements for the second time this year in an effort to stimulate the economy.
After weakening earlier this week, the greenback made a modest rally in the early Friday trading session.
In company news, Manchester United shares (Manu) rose as much as 9% early on Friday after gains of 25% on Wednesday The reports keep rolling in About the possible sale of the English soccer club by the Glazer family, who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As US investors look forward to the end of November and the end of a challenging year in financial markets, Yahoo Finance Jared Bleeker writes for The Morning Brief on Friday This history suggests that more positive times may be in store for the bulls in the market.
During the period covering the Tuesday before Thanksgiving during the second trading day of the new year, the S&P 500 was higher 81% than the time since 1950. In the years when stocks rose during this period, the index rose 3.8%, on average.
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