NEW YORK: US stocks slipped lower in early action Friday as mounting signs of slower world growth kept a pall over trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 24.37 points (0.19 percent) to 13,021.77 in the first hour of trade (1430 GMT).
The broad-market S&P 500 lost 3.21 points (0.23 percent) to 1,389.57, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dropped 15.04 points (0.49 percent) to 3,063.17.
The markets opened flat but then fell after the Commerce Department released data showing new-home sales fell for the second month straight in February.
That combined with sagging data in recent days from Europe and Asia to keep investors in a selling mood.
"Weakening global growth has become the new concern for the market," said the Hightower Report.
Home fix-it retailer Home Depot led the Dow blue chips lower with a 1.8 percent loss.
Nike shares were down 3.6 percent as the company's margins appeared pinched despite it beating analyst predictions on earnings for the quarter ended February 29.
That also helped pull down other sports apparel retailers, with K-Swiss losing 4.9 percent.
Dell, down 3.2 percent, and SanDisk, down 4.3 percent, led tech stocks lower.
Bond prices climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.24 percent from 2.28 percent Thursday, while the 30-year declined to 3.33 percent from 3.36 percent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
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