Stocks open lower, still head for 3rd straight monthly gain

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 30, 2021. Asian shares were mostly lower Friday amid uncertainty about the prospects for a gradual global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader stretches at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 30, 2021. Asian shares were mostly lower Friday amid uncertainty about the prospects for a gradual global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by screens showing foreign exchange rates at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 30, 2021. Asian shares were mostly lower Friday amid uncertainty about the prospects for a gradual global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 30, 2021. Asian shares were mostly lower Friday amid uncertainty about the prospects for a gradual global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this March 23, 2021 file photo, pedestrians walk past the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District. Stocks are pulling back in the early going on Wall Street, easing the S&P 500 below the record high it set a day earlier. The index is still on track to close out its third solid monthly gain in a row. It was down 0.5% in the first few minutes of trading Friday, April 30, and technology and communications stocks were doing the most damage. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Stocks were moderately lower in early morning trading on Friday, pulled down by technology and communications stocks. Despite the decline, the market is on pace for its best month so far this year, as investors remain optimistic that the pandemic is slowly and steadily coming to a close.

The S&P 500 was down 0.4% as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3% and the Nasdaq was also down 0.3%. With the exception of the Dow, the other two indexes are on pace for modest gains this week.

At this rate the S&P 500 is on track for its best month since November 2020, when President Joe Biden was elected. The benchmark index is up 5.6% this month, helped mostly by signs that large-scale coronavirus vaccination programs are helping people return to jobs and normal behaviors after more than a year of restrictions.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that the U.S. economy grew at a brisk 6.4% annual rate in the last quarter and is likely to accelerate further as more vaccinations are administered and COVID-19 cases continue to fall.

There's also the trillions of dollars in government support that has gone out to help the U.S. economy recover from the pandemic. The Commerce Department said U.S. household incomes surged 21% last month, driven largely by the $1,400 payments that went out to most Americans as part of President Biden's economic package.

Investors have also gotten strong corporate earnings which have helped justify higher stock prices. Amazon rose 2% after the e-commerce giant reported that its profits more than tripled in the latest quarter.

Investors will get another big dose of earnings reports next week, including results from drugmakers Eli Lilly, Merck as well as Pepsi, Colgate-Palmolive, the railroad CSX and drugstore giant CVS. Investors will also get April's jobs report next week.