By Ankur Banerjee and Anya George Tharakan
REUTERS - U.S. stocks were slightly up in early trading on Friday after tech stocks appeared to recover from a steep selloff and consumer spending data for May showed steady economic growth.
U.S. consumer spending rose modestly in May and inflation cooled, pointing to a slow-but-steady economic expansion that could still lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by the end of the year.
The S&P 500 and the Dow recorded their worst daily percentage drop in about six weeks on Thursday as a recent decline in technology shares deepened and outweighed strength in bank shares.
"It would not surprise me to have a lot of volatility, considering the financials were particularly strong yesterday and technology was particularly weak," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC.
"We have what appears to be some sector rotation going on, and its occurring at the end of the quarter and its adding to the volatility."
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Towards the end of the second quarter, the market witnessed a few volatile days. On Wednesday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted its best day since Nov. 7.
Tech stocks, which have led the S&P 500's 8-percent gain this year, pulled back recently as some investors questioned the sector's high valuations.
At 9:32 a.m. ET the Dow Jones industrial average was up 96.23 points, or 0.45 percent, at 21,383.26, the S&P 500 was up 10.15 points, or 0.42 percent, at 2,429.85 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 17.31 points, or 0.28 percent, at 6,161.66.
The remainder of 2017 looks likely to bring more of the same, said Brad McMillan, Chief Investment Officer for Commonwealth Financial Network.
"More growth, more market appreciation and more normalization across the board. After the turmoil in recent months and years, this is not a bad place to be."
Oil prices climbed for the seventh straight session on Friday in their longest bull run since April, but were still set for the worst first-half performance since 1998.
The euro came off yearly highs on Friday but was still set for its strongest quarter in six years as investors piled into the currency on a brightening euro zone economy and its implications for monetary policy in the bloc.
The final reading of University Of Michigan Surveys Of Consumers Sentiment for June is due at 10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT)
On the stocks, Nike shares were up 8 percent after the world's largest footwear maker said on Thursday it would launch a pilot program with Amazon.com Inc to sell a limited product assortment on its website.
Shares of Cara Therapeutics Inc plunged 29 percent after the biotech reported disappointing pain treatment data from a key study.
Micron shares were up 2 percent after the chipmaker forecast better-than-expected profit and revenue for fourth quarter
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,995 to 471. On the Nasdaq, 1,343 issues rose and 743 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed 27 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 81 new highs and 69 new lows.
(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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