Stocks Opened Mostly Higher on Earnings Hopes

U.S. stocks opened mostly higher on Friday, as fourth-quarter corporate earnings season kicked off. The Dow lately rose 166.18 points, or 0.65%, to 25,740.91. The S&P 500 climbed 8.27 points, or 0.30%, to 2,775.83. The Nasdaq Composite gained 5.87 points, or 0.08%, to 7,217.65.

Oil prices fell on Friday after hitting a three-year high of more than $70 a barrel the previous day, but they were still on track to post a fourth straight week of gains. Brent crude futures traded 55 cents lower at $68.71 a barrel at 1253 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.14 a barrel, down 66 cents.

JPMorgan Chase & Co reported a 37 percent drop in quarterly profit on Friday due to a $2.4 billion charge related to the new federal tax law. The lender’s net profit fell to $4.23 billion, or $1.07 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $6.73 billion, or $1.71 per share, a year earlier.