Stocks Opened Higher, Poised for Weekly Advance

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, putting major indexes on track for a second straight weekly advance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 49.99 points, or 0.28%, to 18,080.20. The S&P 500 added 7.55 points, or 0.36%, to 2,089.43. The Nasdaq Composite was up 19.56 points, or 0.41%, to 4,793.04.

Oil edged further above $60 (39 pounds) a barrel on Friday as unrest in Libya cut supplies. Brent crude was at $60.50 at 1230 GMT, up 26 cents, while U.S. crude added 32 cents to $56.16 in thin trade.

Slumping oil prices have put Russia’s economy on course for a sharp recession next year, its finance minister said on Friday. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told journalists on Friday the economy could shrink by 4 percent in 2015, its first contraction since 2009, if oil prices averaged their current level of $60 a barrel.

Wal-Mart estimates its average full-time hourly wage is $12.92, and they pay competitive wages and offer employees ample opportunity for advancement.

UPS (UPS) said Friday it expects consumers to ship more than 800,000 packages back to retailers and merchants in post-holiday returns. Overall, the parcel delivery service is expecting to transport 4 million return packages across the U.S. in the first full week of January.