S&P 500 opens sharply higher after testing 3,000 on Thursday

• S&P 500 opens in the positive territory following a three-day slump.
• CBOE Volatility Index drops nearly 10% on Friday.
• Energy shares rebound sharply on rising crude oil prices.

After closing the last three days in the negative territory and suffering heavy losses on renewed fears over a second coronavirus wave, Wall Street's main indexes opened sharply on Friday.

Risk flows return

As of writing, the S&P 500 Index was up 2.8% on the day at 3,085 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was gaining 3.25% at 25,945 points and the Nasdaq Composite was rising 2.75% at 9,756 points. Reflecting the recovering risk sentiment, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, is down nearly 10% after the opening bell.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index, which was the worst performer during the selloff, is up 4.9% in the early trade. A 2% increase in US crude oil futures prices seems to be providing a boost to the energy shares. Among the other top-gainers, the Materials Index, the Industrials Index and the Financials Index are all rising around 3.7%.

At the top of the hour, the University of Michigan will release its preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index data for June.