Chevron, AB Inbev buoy Wall Street on earnings beats

The New York Stock Exchange is seen in the background of this Wall Street sign

Oil giant Chevron and beer titan AB Inbev buoyed opening trade on Wall Street Friday as they handily beat third quarter earnings forecasts.

Ten minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial index was up 3.48 points (0.02 percent) to 17,759.28.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained just 0.33 (0.02 percent) to 2,089.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 6.63 (0.13 percent) at 5,080.90.

Chevron gained 1.8 percent as core earnings per share came in over analyst forecasts despite an overall 63.6 percent plunge in earnings to $2.04 billion due to the oil price crash.

Anheuser-Busch Inbev, poised to take over rival SAB Miller in a mega-merger, was up 2.2 percent as it said operating profit rose by 9.6 percent in the third quarter to $4.4 billion.