Trading on Wall Street kicked off in the green on Friday after fresh comments from President Donald Trump. Speaking to Fox News, Trump said that a trade deal with China is "very close" despite Chinese President Xi Jinping stating earlier his country is "not afraid" of a trade war.

The US president touched on a number of other topics, including the impeachment hearings against him, the USMCA, and immigration.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average started 0.22% higher while the S&P 500 added 0.25% at the open, led higher by Nordstrom after the company released its quarterly earnings. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.26%; NetEase was the best performer.

The euro was flat against the dollar at 9:35 am ET, buying 1.10568.