New York---Wall Street stocks opened mostly lower Friday ahead of a long holiday weekend as traders awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on the US economic outlook.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,258.84, down 26.90 points (0.15 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 retreated from Thursday's record, falling 3.74 (0.18 percent) to 2,127.08, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.46 (0.01 percent) at 4,529.82.
Investors are hoping that Fed Chair Yellen's speech in the afternoon will deliver insights into when the central bank will raise near-zero interest rates, now generally expected in September at the earliest.
Gap fell 1.5 percent after first-quarter net income dropped eight percent to $239 million. Comparable sales at its Old Navy chain rose three percent, but fell sharply at Banana Republic and its namesake stores.
Markets are closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.
AFP
