NEW YORK: US stocks were flat in early morning trading Friday as the US dollar climbed to its highest level in almost 14 years and major indices remained in near-record territory.
A half-hour into the day's trading session, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were both virtually unchanged, at 18,900.16 and 2,186.70, respectively. The tech-rich Nasdaq also was flat at 5,336.37.
Stocks continued their rally started in the wake of last week's shock victory by Donald Trump in the presidential elections, with the Dow hitting successive all-time highs.
Meanwhile, the ICE dollar index hit its highest level since April 2003, as markets anticipate higher US inflation and interest rates in the near future.
Clothing retailers are experiencing difficulties as they head into the crucial holiday shopping period. Shares Gap Inc sank 9.5 percent after the firm Thursday announced a drop in third quarter profits of nearly 18 percent on costs due to store closures outside North America.
Other clothing brands also fell. Abercrombie & Fitch, which also reported downbeat quarterly results on falling sales, lost 13.5 percent, and American Eagle Outfitters was fell 2.7 percent.
The strong dollar could complicate matters for oil-related stocks, as crude is traded in the US currency. However investors have held out hope in recent days that producing countries may make good on a September pledge to limit production.
Shares in supermajor Exxon Mobil were down 0.1 percent Friday, while Marathon Petroleum fell 1.8 percent and BP lost 0.4 percent. Chevron, meanwhile, gained 0.4 percent and ConocoPhillips was up 1.1 percent.
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