Oil Price Slide Eases Market Pressure

Stocks on Wall Street edged higher on Friday, but still faced a losing week due to ongoing concerns over global oil prices. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, on track for its second consecutive weekly loss since March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 76 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:53 a.m. Eastern time, despite the decline in oil prices. However, the Nasdaq fell 0.6% due to sharp losses from big stocks such as Micron Technology and Broadcom.

The drop in crude oil prices was led by Brent crude, which fell 2.8% to $97.89 after a week of rising prices. This decline relieved some pressure on the market, with bond yields easing and falling to 4.68% from 4.71% late Thursday.