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US open: Stocks turn lower following energy sell-off
US stocks opened mostly lower on Wall Street on Friday ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend, as a sell-off in energy shares weighed down on investor sentiment despite North Korea's conciliatory response to Trump's decision to cancel his planned summit with Kim Jong-Un.
At 1500 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down 0.21% to 24,759.44 and 0.24% to 2,721.30, respectively, while the Nasdaq moved 0.14% firmer to 7,434.57.
So far, the weakest sector of the day has been energy, which fell 1.7% alongside a 1.6% drop in the price of crude oil.
The mood was a bit brighter as North Korea extended an olive branch to the US after Trump said he had cancelled his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore next month, blaming "open hostility".
However, North Korea's measured response seems to have assuaged investors following a wobble in the previous session, as an official for the country said it is still willing to meet with the US to "resolve issues any time and in any format".
"It's remarkable that just hours after President Donald Trump suddenly axed his highly anticipated June summit with Kim Jong-Un in Singapore, North Korea unexpectedly offered an olive branch," said Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM.
"North Korea has stated that they remain open-minded in giving 'time and opportunity' to the United States and are willing to meet Trump 'at any time in any way'. With the nation also calling the planned summit "desperately necessary" to mend the US-North Korea relationship, the doors could still be open for a summit to take place. Markets will be paying very close attention to how the Trump administration responds to North Korea's conciliatory stance. Any further signs of de-escalating tensions between the US and North Korea could revive risk sentiment."
On the data front, durable goods orders slipped last month as aircraft orders fell, however, underlying data seemingly pointed to a strengthening American economy at the beginning of the second quarter.
Orders for long-lasting US goods fell 1.7% in April, according to the Commerce Department, a slightly steeper fall than the 1.4% forecast by economists.
Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders were up 0.9%, ahead of expectations of a 0.5% increase.
Elsewhere, the Michigan consumer sentiment index hit 98 in May versus and expected 98.8 reading.
Consumer sentiment was expected to hold steady for the month's final reading.
Market participants will also eye speeches by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell and other central bank officials later in the day.
In corporate news, Apple was up 0.052% after Samsung was ordered by a federal jury to pay the company $539m for infringing patents related to phone designs.
Clothing and accessories retailer GAP tumbled 11.59% after its earnings and sales missed, weighed down by its namesake business, and Herbalife shares dropped 7.33% after Carl Icahn announced his intention to significantly lower his stake in the group.
Foot Locker shares shot up 10.65% after a blowout earnings report.