Wall Street opens mostly higher

US stock indices opened the last session of the week higher on hopes that US-China trade negotiations will resume after supportive suggestions from US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.  

US Retail Sales, Industrial Data 

Earlier US data showed retail sales rose 0.1%, slowing down sharply from 0.7% in July, and missing estimates of 0.4%. 

Import prices fell 0.6% m/m, compared to no change in July, while analysts expected a 0.2% drop. 

US industrial production rose 0.4% in August, same as July, and beating estimates of a 0.3% increase. 

The capacity utilization rate rose to 78.1% from 77.9% in July, missing  estimates of 78.3%. 

University of Michigan released its survey on consumer sentiment, showing a surge to 100.8 in September, the best in six months, from 96.2 in August, beating estimates of 96.7. 

Stock Performance 

As of 02:44 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.09%, or 2.64 points to 2,906.95, while Dow Jones inched up 0.08%, or 20.30 points to 26,166.29. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ gained 0.28%, or 22.13 points to 8,035.84.