U.S. Stocks Open Slightly Higher, Eye Weekly Losses

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Friday as investors grappled with a renewed slide in oil prices and an upbeat monthly jobs report. Oil futures dropped nearly 3% to below $40 a barrel, hitting shares of energy companies once more. Meanwhile, a solid jobs report strengthened the Federal Reserve's case for hiking interest rates at its December meeting. The main indexes were on track to post weekly losses. The S&P 500 opened 6 points, or 0.3%, higher to 2,055. The benchmark index turned negative for the year after a selloff on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 64 points, or 0.4%, higher at 17,546. The Nasdaq Composite began the session up 8 points, or 0.2%, to 5,045.

Copyright © 2015 MarketWatch, Inc.