Stocks Opened Lower, Oil Declined

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, as investors searched for an impetus to keep pushing shares higher following 10 straight positive sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately lost 47.41 points, or 0.23%, to 20,762.91. The S&P 500 fell 8.59 points, or 0.36%, to 2,355.22. The Nasdaq Composite shed 23.17 points, or 0.40%, to 5,812.33.

Crude-oil prices declined Friday, as investors booked profit after a surprise reading on U.S. stockpiles helped lift prices more than 1% in the previous session. Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April fell 25 cents, or 0.5%, to $54.20 a barrel. April Brent crude fell 24 cents, or 0.4%, to $56.34 a barrel.

Department store operator J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP.N) said on Friday it would close 130-140 stores over the next few months, and reported a bigger-than-expected drop in same-store sales for the holiday quarter.

Royal Bank of Scotland reported a sharp rise in losses on Friday as higher misconduct charges and restructuring costs underscored the challenges facing the lender nine years after it was bailed out in the world’s biggest bank rescue. RBS booked 6.96 billion pounds ($8.74 billion) of losses for 2016, against a 1.98 billion pound loss in the same period a year earlier.