Stocks Opened Slightly Higher after Manufacturing Data

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Friday, as investors assessed two sets of manufacturing data, which came in below expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 10.07 points, or 0.06%, to 18,262.31. The S&P 500 was up 0.47 point, or 0.02%, to 2,121.57. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.36 points, or 0.03%, to 5,052.16.

Industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in April, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Excluding autos, manufacturing was down 0.1%. As expected, mining and utilities output declined last month. Capacity utilization dipped to 78.2% from 78.6% in March, indicating little cost pressure on goods prices.

Manufacturing activity growth in New York State accelerated in May after weakening for three consecutive months, as the pace of new orders improved from a multi-year low, a New York Federal Reserve survey showed on Friday. The New York Fed’s Empire State general business conditions index rose to 3.09 in May from -1.19 in April.

Netflix Inc. is in talks with Chinese online broadcasting companies about bringing its content to China, executives at the Chinese companies said.

Brent crude oil steadied below $67 a barrel on Friday after reports that a growing supply glut is boosting inventories worldwide. Brent for July (LCOc1) was at $66.60 a barrel by 1100 GMT (7 a.m. ET), down 10 cents from Thursday’s close and trading in a narrow 55-cent range.