U.S. stocks were mostly higher in midday trade Friday on expectations of a delay in a U.S. interest-rate increase, while oil prices were up about 1 percent after declining for four consecutive sessions. In U.S. economic news, industrial production fell 0.2 percent in September, job openings dropped, and consumer sentiment rebounded. In corporate earnings news, General Electric (GE) posted third-quarter profit that beat expectations but revenues that fell short of estimates. Honeywell posted profits that beat expectations on revenue that missed estimates, hurt by the strong U.S. dollar. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2 percent in early-afternoon trade on Wall Street. Eighteen of the index's 30 components were higher, led by GE, which gained more than 2.3 percent, and Visa and Intel, which each advanced more than 1.2 percent. Decliners were led by Caterpillar, which was down nearly 1.8 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 0.1 percent, with consumer staples leading seven sectors higher and energy the greatest of three declining sectors. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index was flat, with shares of Apple and a biotechnology index declining modestly. The U.S. dollar rose versus other major currencies. Gold futures fell nearly $7 to about $1,181 an ounce in early-afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose about 1 percent to above $46.75 a barrel in volatile trade.
