US open: Stocks mostly higher following February PCE report

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were mostly higher early on Friday as market participants digested the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.

As of 1515 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.57% at 43,487.66, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.29% to 5,878.48 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.02% softer at 18,540.75.

The Dow opened 248.16 points higher on Friday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session as trade war fears and disappointing jobless claims numbers dampened sentiment.

Friday's primary focus, however, was last month's personal consumption expenditures price index from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which revealed PCE growth had eased to 2.5% on an annualised basis in January, down from 2.6% in December.

At the core level, which strips out volatile food and energy, prices were also 2.6% higher year-on-year, down from December's 2.9% increase. On a monthly basis, both headline PCE and the core reading advanced 0.3%, as expected by economists. The report also revealed that personal income ticked up 0.9% month-on-month, while personal spending was down 0.2% when compared to December.

Elsewhere on the macro front, wholesale inventories advanced 0.7% month-on-month to $905.0bn in January, according to a preliminary reading from the Census Bureau, bouncing back from December's downwardly revised 0.4% decrease and ahead of market expectations for a softer 0.1% uptick. On an annualised basis, wholesale inventories were up 1.1%.

Finally, the Chicago Federal Reserve's purchasing managers' index rose to 45.5 in February, according to the Institute for Supply Management, up from 39.5 in January and well and truly ahead of expectations for a reading of 40.6.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.76 1.30%

3M Co. (MMM) $152.45 1.28%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.94 1.19%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $257.61 1.11%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $298.06 1.07%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $173.81 1.07%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $394.04 0.96%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $307.78 0.96%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $472.69 0.88%

Visa Inc. (V) $358.81 0.86%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.70 -8.29%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $389.92 -3.28%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $247.61 -2.22%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.48 -1.90%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $63.52 -1.76%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $236.51 -1.20%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $307.16 -0.90%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $38.13 -0.77%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $605.04 -0.49%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $79.89 -0.16%

S&P 500 - Risers

Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $28.52 18.19%

AES Corp. (AES) $11.28 8.72%

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $55.06 7.99%

Edison International (EIX) $54.28 5.74%

Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) $146.58 4.44%

J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $112.97 3.51%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $366.03 3.50%

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $4.63 2.75%

Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) $71.84 2.75%

Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $219.85 2.64%

S&P 500 - Fallers

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $104.22 -16.06%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $118.57 -10.90%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $195.90 -10.28%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $16.77 -8.59%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.70 -8.29%

Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $170.92 -8.14%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $91.83 -7.86%

HP Inc (HPQ) $30.81 -7.00%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $158.34 -6.12%

Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $430.09 -5.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $55.06 7.99%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $366.03 3.50%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $367.70 1.88%

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,359.50 1.84%

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $75.14 1.78%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $112.79 1.71%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $35.88 1.61%

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $64.25 1.50%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $115.02 1.48%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $8.83 1.31%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.36 -11.04%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $118.57 -10.90%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $195.90 -10.28%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $16.77 -8.59%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.70 -8.29%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $91.83 -7.86%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $158.34 -6.12%

Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $430.09 -5.89%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $77.01 -5.87%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $703.36 -5.50%