Wall Street starts the day in the positive territory

As pointed out by the S&P 500 Futures' strong performance during the day, major equity indexes in the United States opened higher on Friday. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7% and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were adding 0.65% and 0.6%, respectively.

Improved market sentiment seems to be behind today's strong opening. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, was last down 5% on the day to confirm the high appetite for risk. Rising hopes of the U.S. and China reaching a trade deal before the March deadline boosts the S&P 500 Materials and Indsutrials sectors, which were last seen gaining 2% and 1.2% to lead the gains. Among the 11 major S&P 500 Sectors, only Utilities is in the negative territory in the early trade.

Meanwhile, despite a more-than-7% drop in chipmaker Intel's shares amid disappointing earnings results, the S&P 500 Technology sector takes advantage of the positive mood and adds 0.6%.