Stocks Opened Flat ahead of French Vote

U.S. stocks opened little-changed on Friday ahead of the first round of voting in France’s closely watched presidential election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 8.62 points, or 0.04%, to 20,587.33. The S&P 500 was off 1.22 points, or 0.05%, to 2,354.62. The Nasdaq Composite was down 2.86 points, or 0.05%, to 5,913.92.

Crude futures edged lower on Friday, with investors focused on the U.S., where production is growing faster than had been anticipated. June Brent crude were off 4 cents, 0.1%, at $52.95 a barrel. Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June were down 4 cents, or 0.1%, at $50.67 a barrel.

General Electric Co reported on Friday that first-quarter cash flow from its industrial operations turned negative and was less than the company expected, though its earnings and revenue exceeded analyst estimates. GE reported a negative $1.6 billion in cash flow from industrial operating activities compared with a negative $600 million. Earnings from continuing operations attributable to GE shareholders rose to $858 million in the quarter ended March 31, from $248 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 1 percent to $27.66 billion.

Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to boost its payout in a class-action settlement over unauthorized accounts to $142 million, up from the $110 million it announced just three weeks ago, according to documents filed late Thursday.