U.S. stocks slid early on Friday, as investors returned their focus to energy prices.
Oil was down more than 1% in early trading, as word emerged of the passing of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah. No change in policy is expected, but uncertainty was enough to fuel concern on an already jittery Wall Street.
In terms of earnings reports, McDonald’s posted a 7.3% decline in quarterly sales. General Electric posted a revenue figures that just missed estimate, while UPS stock fell after warnings that their fourth-quarter profits would come in below expectations.
The U.S. dollar strengthened again against other global currencies, as declines in the Euro continued after the Thursday announcement of quantitative easing in the Euro Zone.
As of 1 p.m., here are the Friday numbers on Wall Street:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,783.86 (-30.12)
NASDAQ: 4,764.97 (+14.57)
S&P 500: 2,061.37 (-1.78)
