Midday Report: Foot Locker's February Lull Hurts Quarter; Crude Oil Returns Above $50

Summary: Stocks continued to claw back from a mid-week selloff thanks to another jump in crude oil. West Texas Intermediate recaptured its $50-a-barrel level earlier in the session, while the energy sector enjoyed some of the best of the day's gains. Foot Locker reported a decline in quarterly profit and meager growth in sales. Same-store sales growth of 0.5% missed consensus of more than 1%. The sports shoe retailer blamed a slow start in February tied to a delay in income tax refunds. Salesforce gained after a better-than-expected quarter and outlook. The cloud-software developer reported a nearly 25% jump in quarterly revenue. Deere boosted both profit and sales over its recent three-month period as demand strengthened. The company more than doubled its full-year equipment sales growth outlook.