Stocks slide in early trading as oil price falls again

People walk past an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Friday, Dec. 11, 2015.

The US stocks pared early losses and turned higher on Thursday, as investors were cautious ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy meeting next week, which is expected to raise interest rate for the first time in almost a decade.

Oil and gas companies led stocks lower Friday, capping an ugly week.

In corporate news, the U.S. chemical giants DuPont and Dow Chemical on Friday announced a merge in an all-stock deal worth up to approximately $130 billion. Dow Chemical fell $1.91, or 3.5 percent, to $53.

Markets have had a bruising week so far as equities tracked oil prices.

GoPro was up 4.3 percent at $17.60, while Yum Brands fell 0.7 percent to $73.27 after the company’s same-restaurant sales in China fell about 3 percent in November.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 232 points, or 1.3 percent, to 17,347. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gave up 21 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 2,031. The Russell 2000 index fell 5.1 per cent for the week, its biggest weekly percentage decline since May 2012.

The report said retail sales rose by 0.2% in November after inching up by 0.1% in October. The DAX in Frankfurt was down 1.9%, and the CAC-40 and FTSE 100 in London were down more than 1% each near midday.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.8 percent to 19,206.23 after the yen failed to hold on to the previous day’s gains.

Despite sinking crude prices, the S&P’s energy index was the second-best gainer of the day up 0.62 per cent. Some investors seem to be looking for energy stock bargains as they eye a bottom in oil prices, according to Feldman. “Trepidation around the Fed, seasonal tax loss selling, (yuan) devaluation and the post-OPEC sell off in oil have been weighing heavily on markets this week, although Japanese markets have clearly reached levels where investors are happy with valuations again”. Core prices, minus food and energy, also rose 0.3%, above views for a 0.1% uptick.

Jetblue Airways was down 6.7 percent at $23.75 after the airline operator said it expected flight sales as measured against capacity to fall in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.1 percent and mainland China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.6 percent.

Oil futures fell to fresh lows since 2009 as traders looked beyond a drop in United States crude stockpiles to focus on a global supply glut, while a stronger dollar weighed on commodities.

Investors are also awaiting the outcome of the Fed meeting on December 15-16. The euro strengthened to $1.0995 from $1.0939.

METALS: Precious and industrial metals futures closed mixed. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 92 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $35.84 a barrel in NY.

GoPro Inc. (GPRO) shares fell 2.2% ahead of the bell, pulling back after a 11.5% jump on Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gopro-stock-surges-on-talk-apple-may-buy-the-whole-company-2015-12-10) on the back of speculation the wearable-camera company could be an acquisition target for Apple Inc.