Housing fails to revive markets Friday

New York -- An 8.2 percent jump in U.S. housing starts in April couldn't stop a slide in U.S. markets Friday, as oil prices climbed sharply by midday.

Oil prices climbed $2.78 to a record $126.90 per barrel.

In early afternoon trading Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average slid 83.21 points, or 0.64 percent, to 12,909.45. The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell 6.60 points, or 0.46 percent, to 1,416.79. The Nasdaq composite index fell 19.89 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,513.84.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 8/32 to yield 3.792 percent.

The dollar fell. The euro traded at $1.559 from Thursday's $1.5464 and the dollar traded at 103.79 yen from Thursday's 104.60 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index dropped 32.26 points to 14,219.48, off 0.23 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 41.20 points, or 0.66 percent, to 6,293.00.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.