U.S. stocks open slightly higher, eyes on UoM data; Dow Jones up 0.10%

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Friday, as markets awaited the release of upcoming U.S. consumer sentiment data, while Wednesday's comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke continued to support global equities. 

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.10%, the S&P 500 index inched 0.02% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.18%. 

Global stocks gained ground after Bernanke on Wednesday said the Fed will continue to maintain accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future, citing low levels of inflation and the high unemployment rate.

Bernanke said the bank will not raise interest rates until the U.S. unemployment rate hits 6.5%.

Earlier Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor said producer price inflation rose 0.8% in June, more than the expected 0.5% gain, after 0.5% increase the previous month. 

Core producer price inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% increase, after a 0.1% rise in May. 

Dell rose 0.31% after billionaire investor Carl Icahn, in a bid to force Michael Dell to sweeten his USD24.4 billion buyout proposal for Dell, said he’ll increase his offer for the PC maker by adding a warrant. 

In the same sector, Apple shares edged up 0.07%, even after Finnish cellphone maker Nokia introduced the Lumia 1020, a smartphone with a 41-megapixel camera, in an effort to catch up with rivals including Samsung Electronics and the iPhone maker. 

Microsoft slipped 0.27% after the software giant announced a long-awaited restructuring on Thursday. As part of the reorganization, Microsoft announced that the president of its Microsoft Office division, Kurt DelBene, will be retiring. 

Separately, the Guardian reported earlier that Microsoft has been helping the U.S. National Security Agency to bypass encryption on web chats via the company's new Outlook.com portal. 

Among earnings, JPMorgan Chase beat expectations on both revenue and earnings, sending shares up 0.13%. 

Wells Fargo was also higher, climbing 0.98%, after the U.S. lender topped market expectations for earnings and revenue. 

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.15%, Germany's DAX gained 0.63%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.20%. 

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.75%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.23%. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.