US stocks mostly down, S&P 500 retreats

New York - Wall Street stocks opened mostly lower on 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%).

The broad-based S&P 500 retreated from Thursday's record, falling 3.74 (0.18%) to 2 127.08, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.46 (0.01%) 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% after first-quarter net income dropped eight percent to $239m. 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.