U.S. stocks edged higher in early trading Friday, recouping some of the ground they lost after the market’s biggest single-day drop in nearly three months. Technology and health care stocks were among the big gainers. Utilities companies were down the most. Investors had their eye on company earnings and the latest developments in the ongoing tensions between North Korea and the United States.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,445 as of 10:19 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average added 51 points, or 0.2 percent, to 21,895. The Nasdaq composite gained 32 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,249. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,373.
TOUGH TALK: Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea continued to simmer early Friday. In a tweet, President Donald Trump warned of military action “should North Korea act unwisely,” noting that the U.S. is “locked and loaded.” Earlier this week, Trump said the U.S. would unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea if it continued to threaten the U.S. North Korea has announced a detailed plan to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles toward the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, a major military hub and home to U.S. bombers.
There were fewer signs of anxiousness in the markets Friday. Bond and gold prices, traditional havens for nervous investors, were little changed, and the VIX, a measure of how much volatility investors expect in stocks, slid 6.7 percent following a 44.4 percent jump the day before. It’s still the highest it’s been since May.
INFLATION: The Labor Department said consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent in July following no gain in June. Inflation has risen 1.7 percent over the past 12 months, suggesting that inflation pressures remain well under control. The Federal Reserve, which raised its key interest rate in March and June, has signaled it plans a third rate hike before the end of this year. But some economists say the Fed may stand pat for the rest of 2017 unless inflation accelerates in coming months.