Stocks: U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Friday, weighed down by weak October retail sales data and disappointing forecasts from department store chains as well as Cisco (O:CSCO).
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) fell 37.95 points, or 0.22 percent, to 17,410.12. The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 5.33 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,040.64 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) dropped 24.05 points, or 0.48 percent, to 4,981.03.
Economic Indicators: U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in October amid a surprise decline in automobile purchases, suggesting a slowdown in consumer spending that could temper expectations of a strong pickup in fourth-quarter economic growth. The Commerce Department said on Friday retail sales edged up 0.1 percent last month after being unchanged in September.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales increasing 0.3 percent in October after a previously reported 0.1 percent increase in September. Sales at auto dealerships fell 0.5 percent last month after rising 1.4 percent in September. The decline is surprising given that motor vehicle manufacturers reported strong sales for October.
Stocks: Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) has set a deadline at the end of November for its whistleblower program designed to encourage workers to disclose information about the carmaker's two emissions scandals in a move to speed up investigations.
Europe's largest carmaker has been making slow progress in finding out who had knowledge of the rigging of diesel emissions tests two months after the manipulations became public in the United States, and last week also admitted to cheating on carbon dioxide emissions certifications.
Commodities: Brent crude edged up from a sharp drop on Friday, but was on track for the biggest weekly loss in more than two months as swelling stocks weighed on the market.
The International Energy Agency said there was a record 3 billion barrels in tanks worldwide.
"The underlying sentiment is bearish," said PVM analyst Tamas Varga. "I don't see anything that could support prices rising in the long term."
Forex: The dollar rose against the other major currencies on Friday, recovering from mild losses posted after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gave no indication on the timing of a potential rate hike as investors awaited the release of U.S. data later in the day.
USD/JPY edged up 0.15% to 122.77.
The dollar weakened mildly after Fed Chair Janet Yellen refrained from giving any indications on the near-term outlook for the U.S. economy or monetary policy in a speech on Thursday.
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