Oil stocks sink Dow, Nasdaq edge up

(MENAFN- AFP) Energy-related stocks were hammered Friday, leaving US stocks mixed in a holiday-shortened session, after OPEC decided not to cut production in response to lower crude prices.

As the markets closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,832.09, up 0.02 points (0.26 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 slid 4.94 (0.24 percent) to 2,067.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 4.31 (0.09 percent) to 4,791.63.

US oil prices dropped to a new four-year low after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to maintain the status quo on output despite a 30-percent decline in oil prices.

Dow members ExxonMobil and Chevron lost 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. Oil services titan Halliburton plummeted 11.2 percent, while independent producer Continental Resources tanked 21.1 percent.