Nasdaq Composite kicks off latest trade in July on the upside as tech gains boost stocks, but concerns persist about coronavirus stimulus bill

US stocks opened higher on Friday morning on the last day of July after Apple and Amazon made strong gains and Alphabet and Facebook, Google’s parent, beat expectations. However, the lack of progress in Congress on another financial aid bill, the continued increase in coronavirus cases and the disappointing labor market data on Thursday are factors that may limit earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
-0.64%
increased the S&P 500 SPX index by 50 points, or 0.2%, to 26,363,
-0.38%
0.6% at 3,263, while the Nasdaq Composite Heavy Technology Index COMP,
+ 0.06%
It advanced 1.4% to 10,734. On economic data, personal spending rose 5.6% in June, the government said on Friday, after a revised advance of 8.5% in May. Income fell 1.1%, slightly more than expected, due to reduced federal aid to families. In corporate news, Apple AAPL shares,
+ 5.28%,
Amazon.com AMZN,
+ 3.44%,
Facebook Inc. FB,
+ 6.98%
and Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.Co,
-4.10%
GOOGL,
-4.53%
They were trading higher after producing better-than-expected results amid the COVID-19 pandemic.