U.S. stocks moved higher in early trading Friday, seeking their first gain in a week, as beaten-down energy and financial companies rebounded. A pickup in oil prices and a government report indicating that retail sales improved last month helped lift the market. Investors also had their eye on the latest batch of company earnings news.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 121 points, or 0.8 percent, to 15,781 as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 14 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,843. The Nasdaq composite added 19 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,286.
GOOD BET: Wynn Resorts surged 11.3 percent after the casino operator reported better-than-expected quarterly results Thursday. The stock gained $6.75 to $66.46.
BANK REBOUND: Several banking stocks bounced back from a sector-wide slide on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase climbed $2.34, or 4.4 percent, to $55.41, while Citigroup added $1.27, or 3.6 percent, to $36.25. Bank of America rose 28 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $11.44.
NO JOY: Activision Blizzard slid 12.3 after the video game company' reported weaker-than-anticipated quarterly revenue Thursday. The stock was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 index, losing $3.77 to $26.76.
ROCKY ROAD: The stock market has ended lower five days in a row. Global stocks have been in a slump since the beginning of the year on concerns that growth in China, which has been the engine of the global economy in recent years, is slowing far faster than expected. Plunging oil prices and low inflation have added to the market's jitters that the global economy is sputtering.
GOING SHOPPING: The Commerce Department said that retail sales increased a seasonally-adjusted 0.2 percent in January, the same as the previous month. The modest gain is evidence that consumers kept shopping despite sharp drops in stock prices, and it was better than the 0.1 percent economists expected. Excluding the effect of falling gas prices, sales rose 0.4 percent.
OVERSEAS MARKETS: In Europe, Germany's DAX was up 1.5 percent, while France's CAC 40 was up 1.4 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.9 percent. In Asia, Japan's main stock index fell sharply, leading other Asian markets lower. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 plunged 4.8 percent after earlier sinking as much as 5.3 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.2 percent. South Korea's Kospi gave up 1.4 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.2 percent. Shares in New Zealand and Southeast Asia also fell. Markets in China and Taiwan were closed all week for Lunar New Year holidays and will reopen on Monday.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was up $1.45, or 5.5 percent, to $27.66 a barrel in electronic trading in New York. The contract tumbled to $26.21 on Thursday, its lowest level since May 2003. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, gained $1.44, or 4.8 percent, to $31.49 a barrel in London.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.69 percent from 1.66 percent late Thursday. In currency markets, the dollar rose to 112.80 yen from 112.27, while the euro fell to $1.1259 from $1.1330.