Dow drags down broader market

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks fell Friday, with the blue-chip average down for the third straight session, as investors eyed higher oil and gold prices ahead of comments from a Federal Reserve official.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 30.77 to 12,655.25, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (down 4.33 to 1,452.05, Charts) index lost around 0.3 percent with an hour left in the session.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq (down 7.29 to 2,517.65, Charts) composite lost 0.3 percent after ending the previous session at a six-year high for the third day in a row.

Blue chips slumped Thursday in response to higher oil prices and the latest news of geopolitical unrest in the Middle East. Those concerns continued to weigh Friday, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.

"In the absence of any economic news, and with oil and gold prices continuing to move higher on geopolitical concerns, investors are becoming a little skittish," Cardillo said.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery rose 15 cents to $61.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, giving back bigger gains.

Prices have risen over the last two sessions in response to a slide in weekly crude inventories and Iran's stance on nuclear weapons, announced Wednesday.

COMEX gold for April delivery added $3.70 to $686.70 an ounce.

Investors also eyed afternoon comments from Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher, who reiterated the Fed's recent inflation message, namely that pricing pressures are moderating, but remain a threat.

San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen is expected to speak after the close.

Of the 30 stocks in the Dow, 22 fell and eight rose.

Shares of Dow component Microsoft (down $0.42 to $28.97, Charts) continued to weaken after a U.S. federal jury ruled Thursday that the software leader infringed on audio patents held by Alcatel-Lucent (up $0.20 to $13.34, Charts) and should pay $1.52 billion in damages. Microsoft shares fell 1.5 percent, while Alcatel-Lucent shares gained 1.5 percent.

Lowe's (up $1.51 to $35.14, Charts) reported lower fourth-quarter earnings that nonetheless topped estimates, and also issued a first quarter and full-year forecast that is in line with analysts' estimates. Shares of the home improvement retailer gained 4 percent, while rival Wal-Mart (down $0.14 to $49.55, Charts) edged lower.

BEA Systems (down $1.33 to $11.87, Charts) sank 10 percent in unusually active Nasdaq trading after issuing a fiscal first-quarter revenue forecast that is below current forecasts. The outlook overshadowed the business software maker's higher fourth-quarter revenue.

Circuit City (down $0.45 to $20.33, Charts) lost 2.5 percent after the electronics retailer said its chief financial officer is leaving to join PetCo Animal Supplies.

The rise in oil prices boosted oil services stocks, but weighed on companies that depend directly on fuel, such as airlines and other transportation.

Continental Airlines (down $1.46 to $42.78, Charts), Southwest Airlines (down $0.19 to $15.42, Charts), UAL Corp. (down $0.82 to $42.57, Charts) and AMR (down $0.90 to $37.12, Charts) were all lower.

The Dow Jones Transportation (down 12.45 to 5,150.84, Charts) average lost 0.6 percent, after hitting a record high earlier in the week.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by a margin of six to five on volume of 1.1 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers four to three on volume of 1.6 billion shares.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.67 percent from 4.73 percent late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and slipped versus the yen.

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