US equity markets opened higher Friday and saw little response to President Donald Trump announcing he will sign a bill to open the government for three weeks, temporarily ending the partial government shutdown through at least February 15.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 170 points, or about 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.8% and 1.2% respectively.
Airline stocks were mixed after the Federal Aviation Administration invoked ground stops at some of the nation's busiest airports as air-traffic controllers, working without pay, began calling out sick. American Airlines (+4.9%) led the space higher while JetBlue (-0.9%) paced the decline. Delta Air Lines (+0.7%) was little changed.
On JetBlue's fourth-quarter earnings call Friday, CEO Robin Hayes said that while there has not yet been a "significant impact" on its bookings or operations, "we are close to a tipping point" as security screeners, air traffic controllers, and other federal aviation workers were about to miss a second paycheck.
Meanwhile, Coffee giant Starbucks gained close to 3% after reporting better-than-expected top and bottom line results, and raising its forecast for the adjusted-earnings-per-share forecast for the fiscal year.
Traders shrugged off disappointing quarterly results from Intel , which sent shares sliding by 5.7%. The chipmaker missed on earnings and revenue and said it sees trouble in China. "Our trade and macro [economic] concerns, especially in China, have intensified," interim CEO Bob Swan said on the earnings call.
On the commodities front, gold jumped 1.3% to near $1,298 an ounce, and was flirting with its first close above $1,300 for the first time in seven months.
Meanwhile, Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year up 4 basis points at 2.76%. The US dollar traded down 0.7% versus a basket of its major peers.
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