Stocks Opened Lower as Irma Powers toward Florida

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday as investors assessed the financial impact of hurricane Harvey, as hurricane Irma powers toward Florida. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 13.99 points, or 0.06%, to 21,770.79. The S&P 500 lost 3.41 points, or 0.14%, to 2,461.69. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 16.68 points, or 0.26%, to 6,381.19.

Oil prices were mixed Friday, as Brent extended a week of steady gains but U.S. crude remained stuck at pre-Hurricane Harvey levels. Brent crude rose 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $54.67 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures traded down 20 cents, or 0.4% at $48.89 a barrel.

Kroger Co reported a 7.8 percent fall in quarterly profit on Friday as it discounted aggressively to fend off competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other retailers. Kroger’s net earnings fell 7.8 percent to $353 million or 39 cents per share in the second quarter ended August 12. Excluding fuel, sales at Kroger stores open for at least a year rose 0.7 percent.