Stocks Opened Slightly Lower, Oil Futures Rose

U.S. stocks open slightly lower on Friday, as traders weigh vaccine hopes against lockdown concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped 83.97 points, or 0.28%, to 29,399.26. The S&P 500 lost 7.05 points, or 0.20%, to 3,574.82. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 12.41 points, or 0.10%, to 11,892.31.

Oil futures rose Friday and were on track for weekly gains, with optimism over potential vaccine treatments outweighing the threat posed by rising COVID-19 cases. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up 24 cents, or 0.6%, at $42.14 a barrel. January Brent crude was up 40 cents, or 0.9%, at $44.60 a barrel.

Foot Locker (FL) posted third-quarter sales growth that exceeded consensus estimates. Comparable same-store sales rose 7.7%, accelerating from last year’s 5.7% growth rate, and well above the 0.9% increase consensus analysts had been expecting, according to Bloomberg data. Adjusted earnings of $1.21 per share were nearly double the 66 cents anticipated.