US stocks trade with mild negative bias as N. Korea tensions resurface

Major US equity indices opened slight lower on Friday as investors remained on edge amid resurfacing geopolitical tensions. 

In response to the US President Donald Trump's expanded sanctions, North Korea threatened to test a a nuclear bomb of “unprecedented scale” over the Pacific Ocean and triggered a fresh wave of global risk aversion trade. 

Rising geopolitical tensions gave investors reason to take some profits off the table, especially after an extended period of bullish run to fresh record highs and stretched equity valuations.

With N. Korea again making the headlines, investors would refrain from carrying bullish positions over the weekend. Hence, long unwinding pressure might continue to exert some pressure on the last trading day of the week.

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost around 16-points to 22,342, while the broader S&P 500 Index was down 1-point to 2,499. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped around 3-points to 6,419.