Big selloff at the start for stocks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks plunged at the market open Thursday, with the Dow falling more than 100 points, as higher oil prices and signs of continued weakness in the housing market spooked investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 83.81 to 13,701.26, Charts) fell by as much as 158 points and was about 0.8 percent lower in the opening minutes of trade. A day earlier the 30-stock index finished higher even amid credit and housing market concerns.

Both the broader S&P 500 (down 17.39 to 1,500.70, Charts) and the tech-laden Nasdaq (down 34.43 to 2,613.74, Charts) retreated about 1.1 percent.

Weak earnings in the housing sector and elsewhere pressured stocks Thursday.

D.R. Horton (up $0.00 to $17.48, Charts, Fortune 500), the nation's No. 2 builder by revenue, reported its first-ever quarterly loss Thursday, while No. 8 builder Beazer Homes (down $0.89 to $16.15, Charts, Fortune 500) also came in with a loss.

Dow component Exxon Mobil (down $1.99 to $90.80, Charts, Fortune 500), the nation's largest oil company, posted a decline in quarterly profits, although revenue came in ahead of expectations. Exxon shares lost nearly 3 percent in early trade .

Embattled automaker Ford Motor (up $0.12 to $8.09, Charts, Fortune 500) posted an unexpected quarterly profit early Thursday, helped by reduced losses in its North American operations.

Apple (up $2.37 to $137.26, Charts, Fortune 500) shares soared nearly 6 percent after reporting results that beat Wall Street's estimates after the market Wednesday.

Higher oil prices also pressured stocks as prices climbed above $77 a barrel for a time. U.S. light crude for September was up $1.03 to $76.91 a barrel.

On the economic front, orders for big-ticket items meant to last three years or more rose less than expected in June.

Jobless claims fell unexpectedly last week, the government reported, as new claims fell 2,000 to 301,000 for the week of July 21.

Investors will also take in a report on June new home sales, due at 10 a.m. ET, and economists are forecasting yet another drop in the pace of sales there. Concerns about weak home sales and rising mortgage defaults have battered U.S. stocks this week.

In major corporate news, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (up $0.00 to $110,290.00, Charts, Fortune 500) has acquired a small stake in Kraft Foods (up $0.16 to $35.00, Charts), joining activist investors Carl Icahn and Nelson Peltz in holding a piece of the food company, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Major Asian markets declined while European stocks were also lower.

The dollar was lower against the euro and the yen in early trading.

Treasury prices rose, taking the yield on the 10-year note to 4.83 percent from 4.91 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.