New York - Wall Street stocks opened slightly higher on Friday as a government report modestly upgraded the estimate for first-quarter US economic growth.
The Commerce Department said first-quarter growth was at an annual rate of 0.8%, up from the sluggish 0.5% originally estimated. The report said construction was a bit more robust than originally thought, but that manufacturing and consumer spending remained lackluster.
Investors were turning their focus to an afternoon public speaking engagement by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen a few hours before the start of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. US markets will be closed Monday.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17 851.92, up 0.1%.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.1% to 2 093.10, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.1% at 4 907.57.