U.S. Stocks Back to Flat as Oil Price Retreats

U.S. stocks were clinging to very modest gains in midday trading as the price of oil, which had pushed stocks higher early in the day, fell back.

However, the market remained on track Friday for a second straight weekly gain.

Oil prices surged early in the day but retreated to much more modest gains by midday. Stocks have closely tracked oil prices in recent weeks because oil is being used to gauge global economic growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up a fraction of a point to 16,697 as of 11:55 a.m. Eastern time.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,955. The Nasdaq composite was up 14 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,596.

Bond prices fell sharply. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.76 percent.