Money Matters, Simplified.
U.S. markets lower Friday
Sat, 11/21/2009 - 08:10 by harsheeb
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said interest rates for fixed-rate loans were at record lows this week, but the Mortgage Bankers Association countered with data showing mortgage delinquency rates at record highs. October's housing starts dropped sharply, down 10.6 percent, but retailers beat expectations with sales up 1.4 percent in October, the Commerce Department said.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.9 percent Thursday. In early afternoon trading Friday, the DJIA moved lower, down 0.42 percent, 43.53 points, to 10,288.91.
The Standard & Poor's 500 slid 0.6 percent, 6.61 points, to 1,088.29. The Nasdaq composite index lost 0.78 percent, 16.76 points, to 2,140.06.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell 4/32 to yield 3.356 percent.
The euro fell to $1.4843 from Thursday's $1.4919. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 88.92 yen from Thursday's 89.08 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.54 percent, 51.79, to 9,497.68.
In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.31 percent, 16.29, to 5,251.41.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.