Dow down 150
Stocks were sliding again in early trading on Friday, following yesterday's drop that was the worst in six weeks on a percentage basis.
Near 10:41 a.m. ET, the Dow was down 132 points, the S&P 500 was off 14, and the Nasdaq was down 49 points. The Nasdaq was down 1%, while the other two indexes were about 0.7% lower.
Cisco was the biggest loser on the Dow, with its shares down about 5%. The company reported fiscal-first-quarter results on Thursday evening, beating on earnings and revenues, but providing second-quarter guidance that was weaker than expected.
Other big losers in the market today include Fossil (~32%, the S&P 500's laggard) and Nordstrom (~17%), after both companies reported results that weren't as analysts had expected. Google
After yesterday's weakness across commodities, crude oil continued its slide with a 3% drop towards $40 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell to as low as $40.45 on Friday morning in New York.This, after the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report that the supply glut across the world was worsening.
In economic data, both retail sales and producer prices came in lighter than expected.
Headline retail sales rose 0.1% (0.3% expected) in October, amid a 0.9% slide in gas prices.
Producer prices declined 0.4%, and 0.3% excluding food and energy costs. BNP Paribas' Laura Rosner noted that a drop in the prices of light motor trucks and margins for fuels and lubricants retailing were "unusual factors" that contributed to the unexpected decline.
The only data point that surprised to the upside was the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, which was 93.1 (91.5 forecast). Consumers were more upbeat because of an improved outlook on the US economy, according to the report.
Around 1:00 p.m. ET, oil driller Baker Hughes will release its latest weekly tally of oil and gas rigs.