Stocks Mixed in Early Trading amid Stimulus Hopes and Presidential Debate

U.S. stocks were mixed in the early trading on Friday, as investors continued to eye upbeat commentary from officials around stimulus talks and considered the final presidential debate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately advanced 25.13 points, or 0.09%, to 28,388.79. The S&P 500 rose 3.53 points, or 0.10%, to 3,457.02. The Nasdaq Composite declined 33.37 points, or 0.29%, to 11,472.63.

Oil futures gained ground Friday but remained on track for weekly losses, dogged by supply concerns as output from Libya rises, along with worries about crude demand as the number of new COVID-19 cases continued to accelerate globally. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery rose 18 cents, or 0.4%, to $40.82 a barrel, while December Brent crude was up 21 cents, or 0.5%, at $42.67 a barrel.

Intel (INTC) unexpectedly posted a quarterly decline in data center chip sales, driven by a near-halving of revenue from enterprise and government clients during to the pandemic. It reported third-quarter net income of $4.3 billion, or $1.02 a share, down more than 28% from $5.99 billion, or $1.35 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $18.3 billion from $19.19 billion in the year-ago quarter.

American Express (AXP) reported third-quarter earnings of $1.30 per share, missing consensus estimates by 4 cents. Revenue of $8.75 billion was down 20% over last year, but still better than the $8.63 billion expected.

Gilead’s COVID-19 antiviral treatment remdesivir became the first to receive formal approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.