Stocks struggle higher at the open

By CNNMoney staffApril 29, 2011: 9:56 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks edged higher at Friday’s open, helped by strong earnings from Caterpillar and Merck but tech shares remained under pressure following a weak outlook from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion.

The recent modest gains are primarily “a sign that our expectations got reduced to nothing,” said David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor’s.

Investors remain nervous about the economy and inflation. The Fed has been pretty clear that interest rates aren’t likely to budge this year. Meanwhile, gold and silver continue to hit new highs as the U.S. dollar keeps sliding, falling to a three-year low against the euro.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 27 points, 0.2%; the S&P 500 (SPX) rose less than a point, or 0.1%; and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) fell 2 points, or 0.1%.

The Dow was led higher by shares of Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500), which reported better-than-expected earnings on strong demand for bulldozers and other heavy machinery. Shares were up 3%.

Dow components Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) also reported better-than-expected earnings before the opening bell.

Merck’s quarterly profit tripled, on strong drug sales, while Chevron reported a 26% jump in quarterly net income, driven by higher energy prices. Merck shares rose about 1%, while Chevron’s stock fell 0.7%

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was weighed down by shares of Research in Motion (RIMM), which plummeted 14% in early trading after the BlackBerry maker warned of weaker sales.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks rose to multi-year highs, as investors looked beyond a series of mixed earnings reports and disappointing GDP and jobless claims reports..

Companies: Late Thursday, Microsoft reported a 31% surge in quarterly profit, on strong Office and Kinect sales. But not all the news was good, as netbook sales fell 40%. Microsoft’s (MSFT, Fortune 500) stock slipped 2%.

Economy: The Commerce Department said Friday that U.S. personal spending rose 0.6% in March, slightly better than the 0.5% expected by economists. Personal incomes rose 0.5% compared with economists’ forecast of a rise of 0.4%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for June delivery was down 2 cents at $112.82 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery hit an intraday high of $1,541 per ounce early Friday, before easing to $1,537.50 an ounce.

Wyss said that gold prices are benefiting from weakness in the dollar.

“You have to put your money somewhere,” he said. “Right now people are afraid because of low interest rates and unsustainable budget deficits.”

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped, pushing up the yield slightly to 3.32%.

World markets: On Friday, the London Stock Exchange was closed for the royal wedding.

European markets edged higher in morning trading. The DAX in Germany added 0.3% and France’s CAC 40 was flat.

Asian markets ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.8%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei was closed for holiday.