Wall St opens flat after retail sales

All eyes are on The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary November reading on consumer sentiment, which is expected later

U.S. stocks opened flat on Friday, with the S&P on track for a fourth straight weekly advance, after data on retail sales and ahead of a report on consumer sentiment.

The Dow industrials closed at a record high on Thursday, boosted by gains in Wal-Mart, but the S&P 500 was little changed as energy shares tracked crude futures prices lower.

Overall retail sales, which account for about one-third of consumer spending, climbed 0.3 percent in October, topping expectations for a 0.2 percent increase.

Other data showed U.S. import prices fell in September by the most in more than two years as the cost of petroleum products declined and a strong dollar made it cheaper for Americans to buy goods from abroad.

"The fall in gasoline prices is absolutely what the doctor ordered and I would be surprised if the holiday season wasn't better than expected as a result of that," said John De Clue, chief investment officer at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

While the Dow and S&P have continued to set record highs, recent gains have been modest, with the S&P 500 yet to post a gain of at least 1 percent this month.

"This is a market that has something for everyone but there are still a lot of people on the sidelines that are skeptical," said De Clue.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 6.94 points, or 0.04 percent, to 17,645.85, the S&P 500 gained 0.05 points, or 0 percent, to 2,039.38 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.21 points, or 0.11 percent, to 4,674.93.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary November reading on consumer sentiment is expected later in the session at 9:55 a.m. (1355 GMT.) Expectations call for a reading of 87.5 versus the final October reading of 86.9.

The S&P 500 is up 0.4 percent for the week and has rallied 9.5 percent from a six-month low in October, buoyed by supportive economic data and corporate earnings. For the year so far, it is up 10.3 percent.

Baker Hughes gained 4.1 percent to $61.13. The oilfield services company said it was in preliminary merger talks with its larger rival Halliburton Co, which was up 4 percent to $55.94. The two stocks were the best performers on the S&P 500.

Geron Corp surged 33.3 percent to $3.08 after it licensed its cancer compound to a Johnson & Johnson unit for up to $935 million.