Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com — U.S. Stock Markets opened higher Friday with short-covering taking place after a volatile week that was dominated by fears of recession. 

The index had risen 0.8% to 31,496 by 9:44 GMT (1344 GMT) Both the index was at 0.8%, and 1.0% respectively.

After a series of bad earnings reports by the retail sector, main indices still have their lowest weekly close for a year and half. These poor earnings indicate that inflation is slowing down growth. 

Federal Reserve officials are also dispelling any hopes of riding to the rescue of the stock market by not increasing rates as rapidly and far enough as they currently expect. Minnesota’s Neel Kazhkari and Esther George of Kansas City Fed – both on opposite sides of the hawk-dove spectrum in terms their policy preferences – dismissed any suggestion that the stock markets woes would cause them to relax. 

Ross Stores, NASDAQ:), added to retail’s general woes by falling 21% and hitting a 4-year low. The company published its quarterly numbers Thursday evening. Ross said it faces an “increasingly uncertain macro-economic and geopolitical environment” and now expects comparable sales to fall this year, having earlier expected modest growth. 

Foot locker The stock of the (NYSE) was better; it opened 7.9% higher following a solid quarter.