The US stock market opened higher on Friday, attempting to rebound from three days of losses following the Federal Reserve's announcement that it will begin to trim its monthly asset purchase program soon.
At 9:40 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 36 points, or 0.1 percent, to 34,930, and the S&P 500 was up 8 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,414.
The Nasdaq rose 53 points, or 0.37 percent, to 14,594 points. The stock price of Microsoft hit an all-time high of $330.45 per share. Oil majors, on the other hand, were pushing the Dow down, with ExxonMobil and Chevron losing 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, and ConocoPhillips losing 0.9 percent as oil prices sank 1.2 percent.
The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 5.1 percent to 20.57 after four days of gains. The 10-year US Treasury note rate dropped 0.16 percent to 1.240 percent.
On the other side, the dollar index gained marginally to 93.58.
Gold increased 0.2 percent to $1,783 per ounce, while silver fell 0.3 percent to $23.18.
Officials reviewed the $120 billion monthly asset purchase program, according to Fed minutes released Wednesday, and the central bank might begin shrinking its balance sheet as early as this year.
