Stocks opened mildly higher Friday.
The Nasdaq rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 0.2% and the Dow industrials 0.1%.
The stock market today sets out on better footing after a three-day advance lifted both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq -- and the Dow and Russell 2000 -- back above their 50-day moving averages. That opens the door to cautiously optimistic stock buys, but the market's status also presents several good reasons for investors to keep up their guard.
Stocks setting the pace included Netflix (NFLX), Tesla Motors (TSLA), Micron Technology (MU).
Wal-Mart, Micron, Netflix, Tesla
Netflix was up nearly 5% after Nielsen's first ratings of online television series showed 6.7 million viewers watched Netflix' "Orange is the New Black" premiere in June, with 5.9 million tuning in for the second episode.
Chipmaker Micron Technology tumbled 9% shortly after the open. The Boise, Idaho-based outfit reported late Thursday fiscal Q3 results showing a less-than-expected loss, but with revenue slipping more than projected and guidance disappointing expectations. Micron announced plans to lay off about 7% of its workforce in an effort to trim $80 million in costs per quarter by 2017.
Tesla Motors opened 1% lower after the company confirmed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had opened a preliminary investigation into a fatal crash involving one of its self-driving vehicles.
Mobileye (MBLY), a maker of autonomous driving technologies, rose 2%. Mobileye soared 10% in Thursday's regular session on reports of an alliance with BMW and Intel (INTC). Mobileye, BMW and Intel on Friday confirmed plans to produce a fully autonomous vehicle by 2021.
Auto Sales, Construction Spending
Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) kicked off the reports of June auto sales, reporting sales rose 6.5%, just below analyst expectations. Nissan Motors (NSANY) outpaced expectations with a 13% sales gain. General Motors reported a 1.6% drop, though retail sales rose 1%. Ford sales climbed 6%. Fiat opened with a gain of nearly 3%, Ford and General Motors 2% and Nissan was up a fraction.
Markit's final Purchasing Managers' Index for June manufacturing was 51.3, up from 50.7 in May but just below the flash reading of 51.4.
The better-known Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index is due out at 10 a.m. ET. So is the Commerce Department's May construction spending numbers are due out as well.
Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. ET. Baker Hughes (BHI) releases its weekly count of drilling rig activity at 1 p.m.
Oil, Gold, International Markets
Oil prices edged up. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to about $48.50 a barrel. For the week, WTI was up about 1%.
Gold jumped more than 1%, sitting above $1,337 an ounce -- up more than 1% for the week. The dollar slipped vs. both the euro and the yen. Bonds climbed, trimming the 10-year Treasury yield by 6 basis points to 1.41%.
Overseas, China's Shanghai composite added 0.1%. The Hong Kong stock market was closed for the holiday marking the territory's return to China in 1997. In Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 0.7%.
Stocks traded higher in Europe, with the CAC 40 in Paris, London's FTSE 100 and the DAX in Frankfurt, Germany, each up more than 0.8% in afternoon trade. For the week, the FTSE 100 was tracking toward a 7% gain, the CAC 40 traded up more than 4%, and the DAX had climbed more than 2%.
