S&P 500 opens higher for second straight day despite uninspiring US data

• Wall Street's main indexes post strong gains on Friday.
• Retail Sales in US stayed unchanged in April.
• All major sectors of the S&P 500 trade in the positive territory.

Following Thursday's strong rebound, major equity indexes started the last day of the week sharply higher. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6% on the day at 34,230, the S&P 500 Index was rising 0.83% at 4,145 and the Nasdaq Composite was gaining 1% at 13,237.

All major sectors of the S&P 500 trade in the positive territory after the opening bell. The Energy Index is up nearly 2% on the back of rising crude oil prices. The risk-sensitive Technology Index is rising 1% as the second-best performer. On the other hand, the defensive Real Estate Index is rising only 0.4%.

Earlier in the day, the data from the US showed that Retail Sales in April stayed unchanged, compared to analysts' estimate for an increase of 1%. Additionally, the US Federal Reserve reported that Industrial Production expanded by 0.7%. Nevertheless, these figures failed to trigger a noticeable market reaction.

S&P 500 chart (daily)