Stocks dip ahead of stimulus vote
Wall Street dips ahead of Senate and House votes on economic package. Housing plan also in focus.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slipped Friday morning as investors showed caution ahead of House and Senate votes on the $789 billion economic stimulus package.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 37 points, or 0.7% in the early going. The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index gave up 5 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 6 points, or 0.4%.
Todd Leone, head trader at Cowen & Co., said that investors appear to be "lightening up" and unloading their less desirable stocks before they head into a long weekend. U.S. markets are closed Monday for Presidents Day.
Asian stocks finished with gains, as Tokyo's Nikkei index rose nearly 1%. European markets advanced in midday trading.
Oil prices rose 86 cents to $34.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar rose versus the yen and the euro but slipped against the British pound.
U.S. stocks ended virtually flat Thursday, with the Dow recovering from 245 points down, amid reports that the administration had come up with a plan to help prevent foreclosures.
In the plan, the White House is looking at subsidizing the mortgage payments of struggling borrowers before they default, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
Both the House and Senate are scheduled to vote Friday on the $789 billion stimulus compromise. The measure is expected to pass and go on to President Obama for his signature.
The markets still haven't recovered from a brutal Tuesday, when a hazy presentation from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner contributing to a plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average of 382 points, or 4.6%.
"You don't stand up and tell people you're going to have this major policy announcement, and then postpone all the details," said Robert Brusca, chief economist at Fact and Opinion Economics. "You don't tell someone they're going to have a birthday present and then leave an empty box on the table."
Brusca compared to the stock market's reaction to the Geithner presentation to a "horror film with a zombie with a stake in its heart." As to whether the "zombie" will come back to life, Brusca said that all eyes will be on the stimulus package.
Company news: Toyota (TM) announced some moves aimed at further trimming production and costs at its North American facilities. The moves include reducing work hours, eliminating pay raises and bonuses, and shutting plants on selected days in April.
Nissan Motor (NSANY) and Chrysler LLC said they have halted work on a product collaboration as they consider ways to improve projected financial returns on the 10-month-old deal. 
