Stocks Opened Modestly Higher

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Friday, with the three major indices on track to end the week higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 30.74 points, or 0.11%, to 26,765.45. The S&P 500 rose 9.18 points, or 0.29%, to 3,224.75. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 40.22 points, or 0.38%, to 10,514.05.

Oil futures lost ground Friday as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in the U.S. and around the world, adding to uncertainty over the outlook for crude demand. Futures on West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery were down 24 cents, or 0.6% at $40.52 a barrel. September Brent crude were down 31 cents, or 0.7% at $43.06 a barrel.

New home-building rose by a slightly smaller than expected margin in June. Housing starts rose 17.3% on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis to 1.186 million, just short of the 1.19 million expected, based on Bloomberg estimates.