May 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes opened higher on Friday, but the blue-chip Dow and the benchmark S&P 500 were set to snap four straight weeks of gains as inflation concerns rekindled monetary policy caution ahead of a long weekend.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, however, was on course to add 0.8% for the week thanks to Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab blowout quarterly results reinforcing investor faith in Big Tech's bet on artificial intelligence.
Thursday's session still saw all three main indexes fall as economic data pointing to rising price pressures dented bets of interest-rate cuts this year.
After a strong earnings season and expectation-beating forecasts from Nvidia, "the shift for investors now goes back to (the Fed)," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.
"We're going to be looking for all of that data and that will drive the market."
Fresh data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed orders for durable goods rose 0.7% in April, compared with a 0.8% dip expected by economists polled by Reuters. The University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for May came in at 69.1, beating forecasts for a reading of 67.5.
Traders expect the U.S. central bank to ease its interest rates by 34 basis points by year-end. Goldman Sachs pushed back its call for a first rate cut to September from July.
Nvidia shares rose 0.3% after jumping more than 9% a day earlier, closing above the key $1,000 mark and adding around $218 billion to its market value.
Reuters reported the company's most advanced AI chip developed for China had a weak start, with abundant supply forcing it to be priced below Huawei's rival chip.
All 11 S&P 500 subsectors were in positive territory on Friday.
Other megacap stocks including Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab and Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab rose between 0.2% and 0.9%.
Small-cap stocks regained some ground, with the Russell 2000 (.RUT), opens new tab rising 0.6% after Thursday's 1.6% loss.
The U.S. equity market will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day.
U.S. equity funds secured substantial inflows in the week ended May 22, boosted by optimism around robust corporate earnings. LSEG Lipper data showed investors pumped $9.9 billion into U.S. equity funds, significantly higher than $4.1 billion a week earlier.
At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab was up 56.86 points, or 0.15%, at 39,122.12, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab was up 20.59 points, or 0.39%, at 5,288.43, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab was up 76.93 points, or 0.46%, at 16,812.96.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved applications from Nasdaq, CBOE and NYSE to list exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to ether prices, potentially paving the way for products to begin trading later this year. However, ProShares Ether Strategy ETF was down 2.8%.
Workday (WDAY.O), opens new tab dropped 11.5% after the human resources software provider cut its annual subscription revenue forecast.
Ross Stores (ROST.O), opens new tab jumped 8.7% after posting first-quarter results above estimates and raising its annual profit forecast.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.38-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.81-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 14 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 23 new highs and 48 new lows.
Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath
