Stock climb slowed by housing data

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks opened higher Friday morning, on a report saying Citigroup and other troubled financial services companies may begin selling assets, but lost steam after an announcement of troubling new-home sales data.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) were up 0.16 percent in early trading. The broader S&P 500 (SPX.X) index was up 0.2 percent. The tech-laden Nasdaq (COMPX) rose nearly 0.3 percent.

Markets tumbled Thursday after news that former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated and a government report on durable goods came in lower than expected.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that U.S. and European banks, including Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and HSBC (HBC), are considering the sale of a number of branches and units. The report follows a Goldman Sachs analyst report Thursday saying Citi could write down as much as $18.7 billion in the fourth-quarter and may have to cut its dividend by 40 percent.

Shares of Citigroup, Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) and Bear Stearns (BSC, Fortune 500) opened higher Thursday.

On the economic front, the U.S. Department of Commerce said new-home sales fell by 9 percent in November, their largest drop in more than 12 years.

Shares of homebuilders, Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV, Fortune 500), Toll Brothers (TOL, Fortune 500) and DR Horton (DRI, Fortune 500) were lower in early trading.

Meanwhile, the Chicago purchasing managers index, a survey of business conditions in the Chicago area, came in stronger than expected.

In other news, billionaire investor Warren Buffett is preparing to enter the bond insuring business, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other bond insurers, including MBIA (MBI) and Ambac Financial Group (ABK), have been battered by the fallout of the subprime mortgage meltdown.

U.S. light crude oil for January delivery rose 57 cents to $97.19 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices rose, with the yield on the 10-year note falling to 4.12 percent, down from 4.19 on Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

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

COMEX gold for February delivery rose $4.90 to $833.50 an ounce.