Investing.com - U.S. stocks traded down in midsession trade Friday, as investors remained cautious ahead of highly anticipated talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers on how to resolve the country’s "fiscal cliff".
After the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded lower by 0.23%, the S&P 500 gave back 0.17%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.35%
Investors remained concerned over the looming "fiscal cliff" in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.
U.S. industrial production fell unexpectedly last month, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production fell to -0.4%, from 0.2% in the preceding month whose figure was revised down from 0.4%.
Analysts had expected industrial production to rise 0.2% last month.
U.S. TIC long term purchases rose less-than-expected last month, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, Department of the Treasury said that U.S. TIC long term purchases rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.3B, from 90.3B in the preceding month whose figure was revised up from 90.0B.
Analysts had expected U.S. TIC long term purchases to rise 75.0B last month.
There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise.
Markets were also jittery after the release of disappointing U.S. data on Thursday added to concerns over the strength of the country's economic recovery.
The Internet sector was expected to be active, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Google held talks with satellite-TV provider Dish Network, in recent weeks, to partner on a new wireless service that would rival the networks of wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon VZ Wireless.
Shares in Google were down 0.37% in after-hour trade.
Tech stocks were also likely to be in focus, as Dell's third-quarter profit slid 47%, hurt by lower PC sales, weaker demand from large corporations and the shift to mobile computing, sending shares 2.51% lower in pre-market trade.
Elsewhere, Sears Holdings was also expected to trend lower, as shares dove 7.32 in late trading after the retailer reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, although poor demand for popular consumer electronic products took a toll on its same-store sales.
On the upside, the Gap surged 3.61% after hours, as it posted a bigger quarterly profit on Thursday and quelled fears of a possible slowdown ahead of the holiday season after raising its profit view for the year.
Other stocks in focus included Hertz Global Holdings, up 2.39% in late trading, after it won approval from U.S. antitrust regulators for its USD2.56 billion bid for smaller car rental rival Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.46%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.22%, Germany's DAX slid 0.57%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 0.55%.