S&P 500 Index opens flat, tech shares underperform

• Wall Street's main indexes trade mixed on Friday.
• Falling technology stocks weigh on Nasdaq ahead of the weekend.

Major equity indexes started the last day of the week amid varying performances of major sectors. As of writing, the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged on the day at 4,549, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.15% at 35,657 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.3% at 15,168.

Pressured by the large losses witnessed in Twitter Inc and Facebook shares, the Communication Services Index is down more than 1% after the opening bell. On the other hand, the Financials Index is rising 0.8% as the best-performing sector in the early trade.

Later in the session, FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell will be speaking at a panel discussion on monetary challenges in the wake of COVID. The IHS Markit will release the preliminary Services and Manufacturing PMIs as well.

S&P 500 chart (daily)