The US stock indices opened higher on Friday, on track for weekly gains, amid anticipation of major US companies earnings results.
The latest US companies that reported their quarterly were Twitter and Intel Corp.
Efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic are continuing around the world, especially after the emergence of the new highly spreading Delta variant.
The World Health Organization stated that coronavirus infections have increased in the USs, Europe and Asia due to the new Delta strain, which has renewed fears of the pandemic spreading out of control.
As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 0.4% or 120 points to 34,944 as of 14:20 GMT, and S&P 500 rose 0.4% or 20 points to 4,387, while Nasdaq rose 0.3% or 45 points to 14,730.