US OPEN: Dow opens higher before the weekend

• Stocks bounce back up ahead of weekend

• Dow Jones index rebounds, supported by a rise in J&J shares after news of the company's split into pharmaceuticals and consumer products segments

Indices on Wall Street open higher, breaking a string of recent declines.  Markets await the monthly reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, which should show a slight improvement on the previous result.

The US30 is opening higher and approaching resistance set by the 23.6 Fibonacci retracement and previous price reactions.  Positive investor reaction due to the planned split of Johnosn and Johnson into two business segments supports the demand side of the market. Source: xStation 5

Company news:

Elon Musk's trust sold 639,737 Tesla (TSLA.US) shares worth a total of about $687 million on Thursday, according to a report from the regulator today. The news comes just days after Musk sold about $5 billion worth of shares.

Shares in US giant Johson&Johson (JNJ.US)  rise more than 3% ahead of market trading on news the company is splitting into two separately listed entities, demarcating its consumer products and pharmaceuticals segments

Stocks of Rivian Automotive (RIVN.US) rose nearly 4% in pre-market trading, boosting the newly published electric vehicle maker's two-day gain by 57%. Since Wednesday's debut, Rivian's market value has risen to $105 billion

Car startup Lordstown Motors (RIDE.US) falls almost 10% before the start of the session after another quarter with no revenue. The company's stock was rated "neutral" after an earlier "buy" recommendation by BTIG.