Stocks Opened Higher, Eyed on Fed

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Friday as investors shifted their focus to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 56.16 points, or 0.27%, to 21,238.69. The S&P 500 added 6.16 points, or 0.25%, to 2,439.95. The Nasdaq Composite gained 5.52 points, or 0.09%, to 6,327.29.

Oil futures edged up on Friday, after rising U.S. stocks raised doubts that production cuts are achieving their goal of draining global inventory.
Brent crude rose 0.3% to $48.00 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures were trading up 0.4% at $45.80 a barrel.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is crafting a new government, with Friday’s move taking place after Thursday’s snap general election resulted in a hung parliament in the House of Commons.

Shares of Pandora Media Inc. (P) ran up, after Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) said it will make a $480 million cash investment in the internet radio and music streaming company.

Google-owner Alphabet Inc. has agreed to sell robotics firm Boston Dynamics to SoftBank, the Japanese telecommunications and technology company.