NEW YORK: US stocks opened slightly lower on Friday, edging off of Thursday’s highs as traders took a break following a busy week of trading around the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.

The US central bank cut rates by an aggressive half percentage-point on Wednesday in a bid to boost demand and support the cooling labor market, as inflation continues to ease toward its long-term two percent target.

Shortly after markets opened, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down around 0.1 percent at 41,965.96, while the S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 5,703.00, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was almost flat at 18,014.17.

“It is Friday, and after this week of all time highs on just about every index, it wouldn’t surprise me that both investors and traders are taking a break,” Bokeh Capital Partners’ chief investment officer Kim Forrest told AFP.

Wall St propelled higher by broad gains after Fed kicks off easing cycle

Among individual stocks, FedEx was trading down around 14 percent after slashing its earnings outlook.

And the sportswear giant Nike’s shares jumped by seven percent after announcing that its chief executive John Donahoe would step down and be replaced by Elliott Hill, a company veteran, who will come out of retirement to take up the role.