Stocks opened higher Friday after the latest GDP report fueled expectations for further Fed action and following some optimistic headlines from France and Germany's leaders.

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MAJOR U.S. INDEXES

.DJIA

12935.91

47.98

+0.37%

 

.NCOMP

2902.55

9.30

+0.32%

0

.SPX

1365.74

5.72

+0.42%

0

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained at the open, led by Merck [MRK 44.59    1.26  (+2.91%)   ], after soaring more than 200 points in the previous session.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also opened higher. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded below 18.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.5 percent annual rate in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department said on Friday. Still, the reading marked the weakest pace of growth since the third quarter of last year.

First-quarter growth was revised up to a 2.0 percent pace from the previously reported 1.9 percent.

"The recession and debt concerns in Europe, as well as the rapid slowdown in China, are having spillover effects here in the United States," said Todd Schoenberger, managing principal at The BlackBay Group. "Sadly, the only bullish action that may be able to reverse this trend, at least in the short-term, is further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve."