U.S. Stocks Open Higher as Wall Street Digests Black Friday Sales

U.S. stocks opened higher Monday as investors evaluate how eager Americans were to open their wallets during Black Friday weekend. One trend is clear-more and more people are shopping online instead of going to brick and mortar stores. The National Retail Federation says the same number of people bought products on line as did in the stores over the weekend. The NRF is standing by its prediction that retail sales this holiday season will rise 3.7%, slower growth than last year. The preference for online deals is an encouraging sign for retailers as they roll out another round of online-specific sales heading into December. Although as the shopping season becomes more prolonged, fewer people are expected to shop online on Monday itself compared with last year, 121.3 million vs. 126.9 million in 2014, the NRF says.