US stocks open higher as Black Friday shopping begins

New York - US stocks opened mostly higher on Friday with retailers in focus as shopping kicks into high gear after the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Investors shrugged off a steep plunge in Chinese stocks, sparked after authorities opened investigations into several brokerages.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17 808.05, down 5.34 points (0.03%).

The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 1.24 (0.06%) to 2 090.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 8.01 (0.16%) to 5 124.15.

Thin trading volumes were expected in a shortened session following market closures on Thanksgiving. The markets close early at 18:00 GMT and no economic indicators are on the agenda.

"With nothing in the way of earnings or economic data to digest, traders will await Black Friday updates from retailers," said Alex Eppstein at Schaeffer's Investment Research.