Stocks Move Modestly Lower In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved modestly lower in early trading on Friday after ending the previous session nearly flat. The major averages have all dipped into negative territory, although selling pressure has remained somewhat subdued.

Currently, the major averages are off their lows for the session but still in the red. The Dow is down 12.53 points or 0.1 percent at 17,913.90, the Nasdaq is down 8.93 points or 0.2 percent at 4,936.95 and the S&P 500 is down 2.42 points or 0.1 percent at 2,080.36.

The early weakness on Wall Street is partly due to a steep drop by the price of crude oil, which is pulling back further off its recent highs.

Crude oil for May delivery is currently tumbling $1.34 to $40.16 a barrel after sliding $0.26 to $41.50 a barrel on Thursday.

With the decrease, the price of crude oil is moving lower for the third straight day after ending Tuesday's trading at its highest closing level since late November.

The continued decrease by the price of crude oil reflects trepidation ahead of this weekend's meeting of major oil producers in Doha.

Traders are also digesting the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Federal Reserve showing a much bigger than expected drop in industrial production in March.

The Fed said industrial production fell by 0.6 percent in March, matching the downwardly revised drop reported for February. Economists had expected production to edge down by 0.1 percent.

The bigger than expected decrease was primarily due to steep drops in mining and utilities output, although manufacturing output also fell 0.3 percent.

A separate report from the University of Michigan showed an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in the month of April.

Energy stocks have come under significant selling pressure in early trading, moving lower along with the price of crude oil.

The Philadelphia Oil Service Index has slumped by 2 percent, while the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index are both down by 1.4 percent.

Computer hardware and networking stocks are also seeing early weakness, while some strength is visible among gold stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has fallen by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved higher on the heels of the disappointing economic data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.1 basis points at 1.75 percent.