(RTTNews) - After moving sharply lower over the course of the previous session, stocks moved modestly higher at the start of trading on Friday. Buying interest was somewhat subdued, however, limiting the upside for the major averages.

While most of the major sectors have moved to the upside, most are showing only modest upward moves. Nonetheless, significant strength has emerged among airline stocks, which are moving higher following the news of a merger of British Airways and Iberia.

The early strength in the markets is partly due to the release of some upbeat European economic data, with a report from Eurostat showing that Eurozone GDP increased by 0.4 percent in the third quarter following five consecutive quarters of contraction.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing that the U.S. trade deficit widened by much more than expected in September, as the value of imports increased at a faster pace than the value of exports.

The trade deficit widened to $36.5 billion in September from a revised $30.8 billion in August. Economists had been expecting the deficit to widen to $31.8 billion from the $30.7 billion originally reported for the previous month.

Shortly, traders will be presented with the Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary report on the consumer sentiment index for November, which might shed some light on the upcoming holiday season. Economists expect the index to rise to 71.0 from October’s final reading of 70.6.

In corporate news, diversified media and entertainment company Walt Disney (DIS) said that its fourth quarter profit rose 18 percent from last year, helped mainly by strong results at its cable networks due to the growth of ESPN and, to a lesser extent, the worldwide Disney Channels.

In the past few minutes, the major averages have pulled back off their highs for the young session, although they are holding onto modest gains. The Dow is currently up 18.14 at 10,215.61, the Nasdaq is up 4.82 at 2,153.84 and the S&P 500 is up 1.95 at 1,089.19.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Eurozone, Releases, UK, USA.

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