US stocks move lower in morning trading; oil heads down

FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2015, file photo, a Wall Street street sign is framed by an American flag hanging on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks edged higher Friday morning, Dec. 30, 2016, on the final day of trading for the year. High-dividend stocks like phone companies and utilities fell the most, giving back some of the gains from a day earlier. Real estate stocks led the gainers. Trading was quiet ahead of the New Year's Day holiday. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2015, file photo, a Wall Street street sign is framed by an American flag hanging on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks edged higher Friday morning, Dec. 30, 2016, on the final day of trading for the year. High-dividend stocks like phone companies and utilities fell the most, giving back some of the gains from a day earlier. Real estate stocks led the gainers. Trading was quiet ahead of the New Year's Day holiday. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

By Associated Press December 30, 2016 3 min read

U.S. stocks veered lower Friday morning on the final day of trading for the year. Technology stocks fell the most, while real estate companies and banks eked out small gains. Trading was subdued ahead of the New Year’s Day holiday.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average slid 8 points, or 0.1 percent, to 19,811 as of 11:40 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,244. The Nasdaq composite gave up 32 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,399.

BIGGEST LOSER: Chipmaker Nvidia fell $2.84, or 2.6 percent, to $108.59. The stock also had a steep loss on Wednesday but is still by far the biggest gainer for the year in the S&P 500 index, having more than tripled in value.

TALKED OUT: Charter Communications is down 1.9 percent on reports that talks with NBCUniversal are going badly, which could potentially lead to a blackout for Spectrum subscribers. Charter gave up $5.44 to $286.75.

NOT PUMPED: Opko Health slumped 15.8 percent after a trial of a long-acting human growth hormone product produced disappointing results. The stock lost $1.81 to $9.65.