U.S. stock markets were mixed in early trading on Friday, after equities on Wall Street fell in the prior session as traders assessed the first month of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
By 09:33 ET (14:33 GMT), the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average had shed 237 points or 0.5%, the benchmark S&P 500 was down by 6 points or 0.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had gained by 35 points or 0.2%.
The main averages on Wall Street all dropped on Thursday, with investors also marking five years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic rocked global stock markets.
Along with lingering worries over international trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainties, a disappointing annual sales forecast from big-box retail chain Walmart (NYSE:WMT) impacted sentiment. The outlook added fuel to recent concerns over the health of the U.S. consumer. Still, Walmart executives said that shopping activity appears to have remained "resilient."
The latest quarterly earnings season is coming to close, although analysts at Vital Knowledge flagged that key reports are due out next week, including numbers from artificial intelligence-darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Markets will have the chance to parse through the February reading of U.S. business activity on Friday, which could provide some insight into how firms fared during the first month of Trump's return to the White House.
S&P Global's preliminary composite purchasing managers' index for the U.S., a tracker of both the manufacturing and services sectors, came in at 52.7 in January. The level was slightly upwardly revised from a preliminary mark of 52.4 -- a nine-month low. A figure above 50 denotes expansion in the private sector.
At the time, sluggishness in services was offset by expansion in manufacturing, as companies in the sector banked on Trump delivering an era of looser regulations and lower taxes. However, manufacturing firms fretted that Trump's plans to roll out sweeping tariffs on friends and adversaries alike would disrupt supply chains, hit sales and heighten inflationary pressures.
In individual stocks, shares in Block (NYSE:XYZ) slumped after the payments firm reported lower-than-anticipated fourth-quarter income despite receiving a boost from relatively strong holiday spending activity and a post-election spike in the price of Bitcoin.
Shares in Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ:CELH) rocketed higher by more than 30% after the energy drink maker announced it is set to acquire rival Alani Nu and reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
Elsewhere, oil prices fell, but were on course to secure a weekly gain, as traders eyed supply chain disruptions in Russia and a drawdown in U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles.
