S&P 500 Index opens modestly lower ahead of consumer confidence data

• Wall Street's main indexes opened modestly lower on Friday.
• Technology shares remain on the back foot after the opening bell.
• Investors await UoM's September Consumer Sentiment Index data.

Major equity indexes in the US started the last day of the week in the negative territory. As of writing, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% at 4,470, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was posting small losses at 34,748 and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 0.2% at 15,150.

Later in the session, the University of Michigan (UoM) will release the preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index data for September. Meanwhile, the market volatility is expected to increase toward the end of the session due to the so-called "quadruple witching."

 Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Technology Index is down 0.72% as the biggest decliner after the opening bell. On the other hand, the Energy Index is rising 0.65% despite the modest losses witnessed in crude oil prices.

S&P 500 chart (daily)