Stocks Opened Mixed, Oil Prices Fell

U.S. stocks opened mixed on Wednesday, as markets felt for direction after a tough day of selling Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately slipped 58.64 points, or 0.28%, to 20,609.37. The S&P 500 shed 4.04 points, or 0.17%, to 2,339.98. The Nasdaq Composite added 3.28 points, or 0.06%, to 5,797.11.

Oil prices on Wednesday added to their drop for the week, as analysts blamed worries about rising U.S. supplies and doubts about OPEC’s production cuts. May West Texas Intermediate crude fell 67 cents, or 1.4%, to $47.57 a barrel, while May Brent crude gave up 73 cents, or 1.4%, to $50.23 a barrel.

Nike Inc (NKE) reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue on Tuesday as the world’s largest footwear maker battles for market share in North America with a resurgent Adidas AG and a fast-growing Under Armour Inc. Nike reported a third-quarter profit of 68 cents per share, compared with the average analyst estimate of 53 cents per share. Revenue rose 5 percent to $8.43 billion in the quarter.

Sears Holdings, once the largest U.S. retailer, warned on Tuesday about its ability to continue as a going concern after years of losses and declining sales. “Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” Sears said in the annual report for the fiscal year ended Jan. 28.