Stocks Opened Higher as Oil rallied

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Wednesday, as rising oil prices helped lift energy shares and disappointing private-sector jobs data marginally reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 87.69 points, or 0.48%, to 18,256.14. The S&P 500 gained 8.89 points, or 0.41%, to 2,159.38. The Nasdaq Composite added 22.04 points, or 0.42%, to 5,311.70.

Oil futures moved firmly higher on Wednesday as traders continued to weigh the prospect of a supply deal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and looked ahead to U.S. oil inventory data. Brent crude jumped 82 cents, or 1.6%, to $51.69. Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose 78 cents, or 1.6%, to $49.48 a barrel.

Private-sector employment slowed a bit in September, according to data released Wednesday morning. Employers added 154,000 private-sector jobs last month, down from 175,000 in August, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported. This is the smallest increase since April.

Shares of Sears Holdings spiked after a report that bids for the company’s Craftsman business are due by the end of October. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that bidders included Stanley Black & Decker and Hong Kong-based Techtronic Industries.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google laid out a sweeping new ecosystem Tuesday, with hardware at competitive or lower prices than rival products from both Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., thanks to one major advantage: It needs your data and your attention more than your device dollars.