New York - US stocks Friday opened slightly higher following news that major tobacco companies entered merger talks and earnings from banking giant Wells Fargo that met expectations.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially flat, up 0.35 of a point to 16,915.42.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.27 (0.01 percent) at 1,964.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9.20 (0.21 percent) to 4,405.40.
Reynolds American is in merger talks to buy Lorillard, the tobacco companies said.
Lorillard, with a market valuation of $24 billion, rose five percent.
Reynolds was unchanged.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo kicked off second-quarter earnings among big banks with a report of per-share profit of $1.01, meeting analyst expectations.
The result snapped a winning streak for Wells, which has typically beaten expectations.
Shares dropped 1.3 percent.
European markets were quieter after suffering big drops Thursday on worries about Portugal's largest bank.
Markets in London, Germany and France were little changed. - Sapa-AFP