US stocks move barely higher, helped by energy companies

The Associated Press

Stocks were mostly higher Friday, led by energy companies, closing out what has been one of the worst weeks for financial markets in months. The S&P 500 was up 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, pulled higher energy companies like ExxonMobil. Merck jumped 9% after the drugmaker released a study that showed its experimental pill to treat COVID-19 cut hospitalizations and deaths by half in people who were recently infected with the virus. Oil prices are up nearly 2% this week, approaching a seven-year high, while natural gas prices are up nearly 10%.