U.S. stocks open mixed, with Dow up as investors assess inflation reading

U.S. stocks opened mixed Friday after a reading from the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge showed that the cost of living is still running hot. The blue-chip gauge Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.82% rose 0.5% soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 SPX, +1.53% gained 0.1% and technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP, +1.72% dropped less than 0.1%, according to FactSet data, at last check. U.S. inflation measured by the personal-expenditures-consumption index rose 0.3% in September for an unchanged annual rate of 6.2%, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis report Friday. Core PCE, which excludes energy and food prices, climbed 0.5% last month, bringing its annual rate to 5.1%, from 4.9% in August.