U.S. Stocks Open Higher After Sign Inflation Slowed Last Month

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Investing.com — U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday after new data showed inflation slowed slightly in April, putting the Dow on track to snap an eight-week losing streak.

At 9:46 AM ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 143 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 rose 1% and the NASDAQ Composite rose 1.5%.

The personal consumption expenditure index rose 6.3% over the year ended in April, cooling from March’s 6.6% pace. The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which excludes food and fuel, rose 4.9% last month from the prior year, down from the gain of 5.2% for the prior month. The PCE is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation trends. 

Rounding out the retailer earnings this week, shares of Big Lots Inc (NYSE:BIG) fell 11% on Friday after the discount retailer fell short of expectations on sales and reported a surprise loss in the three months through April. 

Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ:MRVL) stock rose 5% after offering guidance slightly above Wall Street’s expectations. Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) stock rose 10% after beating expectations. Shares of Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL) jumped 15% after also beating expectations.

Oil was flat. Crude Oil WTI Futurestraded around $113.73 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures crude was near $114, down 0.1%. Gold Futures rose 0.3% to $1,853.