U.S. stocks are opening slightly higher in relatively quiet trading the day after Christmas. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 35 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,066 as of 9:35 a.m. Friday.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up six points, or 0.3 percent, at 2,088. The Nasdaq composite rose 17 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,790. Utilities and health care stocks had the biggest gains. Merck rose the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow.
Most European markets were closed. Share prices edged higher in Japan, where the Nikkei 225 rose 0.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.8 percent. Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.25 percent.