Stocks Opened Little Changed after Consumer Data

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Friday, the final trading day of the month, after a report had consumer
spending rising less than projected last month.The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 8.91 points or 0.06%,  at 14,832.04. The S&P 500 index was off 0.06 point, to 1,639.60. The Nasdaq Composite fell 8.09 points, or 0.22%, to 3,612.21.

The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending ticked up 0.1 percent as outlays on services were flat and purchases of durable goods such as automobiles fell. Spending was also held back by weak incomes.

The price of oil fell below $108 a barrel Friday after British lawmakers refused to approve military action against Syria, easing concerns about international intervention in the country’s civil war. Benchmark oil for October delivery was down $1.20 to $107.60 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Big Lots Inc.’s (BIG) fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 18% as higher expenses masked a slight uptick in revenue. The company’s results beat estimates. For the quarter ended Aug. 3, Big Lots reported a profit of $18.1 million, or 31 cents a share, down from $22.1 million, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier.
Optimism in the euro zone’s economy improved sharply in August but stubbornly high unemployment, especially in the
bloc’s weaker countries, highlighted the fissure separating the recovering north from the struggling south.
Confidence among business managers polled by the European Commission rose for a fourth successive month in the euro
zone, the EU executive said on Friday.