US stocks flat as Alcoa falls, oil shares gain

New York - US stocks were little changed in opening trade on Friday as weak earnings by Alcoa offset gains by some petroleum-linked equities on higher oil prices.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17 068.70, up 17.95 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.07% at 2 014.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.02% to 4 809.84.

Alcoa was off 2.7% after it reported after markets closed on Thursday a 70.4% drop in third-quarter earnings to $44m. The metals giant trimmed its outlook for key Chinese businesses.

But oil services companies Weatherford International and Nabors Industries rose by 2.8% and 1.1%, respectively, as US oil prices opened above $50 a barrel.