U.S. stocks open slightly lower as third quarter begins

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday ahead of a long holiday weekend as markets kicked off the second half of the year in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 54 points, or 0.2%, to 30,720. The S&P 500 shed 4 points, or 0.1%, to 3,781. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 20 points, or 0.2%, to 11,006. Stocks just wrapped up one of the first first-half stretches in decades during what has been a brutal year as growth fears and inflation have battered markets.

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