US stocks open flat as Boeing retreats

New York - Wall Street stocks treaded water in opening trade on Friday as Boeing shares took a hit after the company announced that it would take a $2.1 billion charge against second quarter earnings.

Investors were cautious after the Dow lost ground on Thursday, ending a six-day streak of records amid a mix of earnings reports.

"Investors will do a lot of tape watching, aiming to see how leading sectors ... respond to Thursday's pullback and whether the modest uptick at the open ultimately invites renewed profit-taking efforts," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially flat at 18 518.91, while the S&P 500 was at 2 165.34, also unchanged.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid less than 0.1% to 5 071.77.

Shares of Boeing, a Dow component, were down 1.7%.