Stocks Opened Higher after Economic Data

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, after readings on consumer inflation and retail sales came in slightly weaker than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 34.99 points, or 0.15%, to 22,876.00. The S&P 500 gained 3.00 points, or 0.12%, to 2,553.93. The Nasdaq Composite added 14.42 points, or 0.22%, to 6,605.93.

Oil prices jumped Friday on a mix of factors, including bullish Chinese data and geopolitical risks from oil-rich regions in the Middle East. November West Texas Intermediate crude rose 93 cents, or 1.8%, to $51.52 a barrel. December Brent crude rose $1.14, or 2%, to $57.39 a barrel.

The consumer price index rose 0.5% in September, the second big increase in a row and the largest in eight months. If food and energy are stripped out, core CPI rose a much smaller 0.1%. The recent energy-driven rise in CPI pushed the yearly rate of inflation to 2.2% from 1.9% to match a six-month high.

Retail sales in the U.S. leaped 1.6% in September, reflecting the largest increase in two and a half years. The big boost came from new autos and trucks. Excluding autos, sales rose 1%. And sales excluding autos and gasoline climbed a smaller but still robust 0.5%.

Wells Fargo & Co. on Friday reported lower-than-expected revenue, and earnings muddied by a one-time charge. Wells said it had revenue of $21.9 billion in the third quarter, down 2% compared to a year agon. It had per-share earnings of $0.84, versus $1.03 a year ago.

Bank of America Corp. said its third-quarter profit rose to $5.59 billion, despite trading headwinds. Third-quarter revenue was $22.08 billion, up from $21.86 billion a year earlier.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. delivered a stronger third-quarter profit, bolstered by growth in commercial lending. Net income was $1.11 billion, or $2.16 diluted earnings per share, compared with $988 million, or $1.84 a share, a year earlier.