US stocks mixed as investors eye easing of China's COVID restrictions and FTX bankruptcy filing
US stocks opened mixed Friday after the prior day's massive rally.
Stocks found early support after China said it was relaxing some COVID-related restrictions.
Cryptocurrencies sold off after FTX filed for bankruptcy, with Sam Bankman-Fried also stepping down as CEO.
US stocks were mixed Friday as investors reacted to signs of easing COVID restrictions in China and FTX's bankruptcy filing.
China reduced quarantine requirements for travelers coming into the country who have tested positive for coronavirus. Travelers will now need to spend five days in a hotel, down from seven, said the National Health Commission. China has also dropped a penalty on airlines that carried infected passengers.
Traders "have been hoping for a long time" for Beijing to loosen COVID-related directives, Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, wrote Friday. "This is certainly not enough but a step in the right direction to promote global growth."
Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies sold off after FTX filed for bankruptcy, with Sam Bankman-Fried also stepping down as CEO. Earlier, crypto lender BlockFi said it's halting client withdrawals and limiting activity on its platform, citing uncertainty surrounding FTX.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:
S&P 500: 3,961.60, up 0.13%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,741.96, up 0.08% (26.59 points)
Nasdaq Composite: 11,105.90, down 0.07%
Equities soared Thursday after headline and core consumer price inflation in October rose by less than economists had widely anticipated. Headline inflation of 7.7% was below estimates of an increase to a rate of 7.9%.
"Perhaps inevitably equity bulls drew the immediate conclusion that inflation has now peaked, although it is unlikely that the Federal Reserve will make any major adjustments to its hiking policy until a downward inflation trend can be established and then maintained," Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said in a note.
"Even so, consensus for a lower rate hike in December is now firmly in the camp of a 0.5% rise, as opposed to the consecutive increases of 0.75%," he said.
Here's what else is happening today:
The Bahamas securities regulator has frozen the assets of FTX subsidiary FTX Digital Markets.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway cashed in about $4 billion of US Bancorp stock, cutting its stake in the company by more than 60% in four months.
Apple's market value soared $190.9 billion on Thursday — a record single-day gain for a US-listed company.
Some 32 tech billionaires collectively added $59 billion to their net worth from Thursday's equity rally, according to Bloomberg.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.3% to $89.32 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, picked up 2.9% to $96.41.
Gold moved 0.8% higher to $1,767.11 per ounce.
The US bond market was closed for Veterans Day. On Thursday, the 10-year Treasury yield fell 32 basis points to 3.81%.
Bitcoin fell 2.8% to $17,317.03.
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