Stocks Turned Mostly Higher

U.S. Stocks turned mostly higher in the early trading on Friday, after import and export price data showed inflation remains tame. The Dow Jones industrial average lately rose 47.62 points, or 0.29%, to 16,706.87. The S&P 500 gained 3.66 points, or 0.19%, to 1,931.87. The Nasdaq Composite fell 20.44 points, or 0.47%, to 4,357.90.

The prices paid for imported goods fell 0.5% in September and declined for the third straight month, another sign that U.S. inflationary pressures remain muted. The main reason: falling worldwide oil prices.

Volkswagen AG delivered 3.0% more vehicles in September than a year earlier and might sell 10 million cars this year, the German company said Friday.

Blackstone Group LP said Friday it will spin off its financial and strategic advisory services operation into a separate publicly traded company with PJT Partners, joining companies such as eBay Inc. that have recently moved to ditch slower-growing divisions.

The new chief executive of Microsoft (MSFT), Satya Nadella , has formally apologized over controversial comments he made this week on the issue of pay rises for female employees.