Wall Street slides on oil slick

(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)Wall Street fell sharply on Friday weighed by a batch of disappointing U.S. economic data a slide in oil and a rout in Chinese stocks. At 3:31 p.m. in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) was down 2.4% at 15992.53. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) declined 2.2% to 1879.22 while the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) fell 2.8% to 4487.47. U.S. crude oil settled down 5.7% at $29.42 a barrel the first settlement under $30 in 12 years. In U.S. data the January Empire manufacturing was negative 19.4. The Producer Price Index fell 0.2 percent in December after increasing 0.3% in November. Industrial production for December fell 0.4%. Capacity utilization was 76.5%. January U.S. Michigan preliminary Consumer Sentiment was 93.3. November U.S. business inventories fell 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite dropped 3.5%. It is down 20% from a December 22 high which by one definition puts it in a bear market. In Europe the Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 2.8%. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) fell 4.1% to $297.81 even after the firm said its earnings jumped on the back of higher fees. Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) were 3.5% lower  at $48.89 after the bank posted a profit that was flat as low oil prices hurt the country's fourth-largest bank by assets. Citigroup (NYSE:C) fell 6.5% to $42.45 even as its profit soared last quarter on decreased litigation costs. Analog Devices slumped 1.6% to $49.72 after it cut its revenue outlook late Thursday. U.S. stock markets are closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Lunchtime trading Wall Street plunged on Friday following a worldwide rout triggered by another drop in oil prices. Disappointing economic data also fueled the U.S. sell-off. At 12:56 p.m. in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) retreated 2.8% to 15926.14. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) fell 2.7% to 1868.75 while the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) sank 3.5% to 4454.64. U.S. crude-oil tumbled 5.4% to $29.53 a barrel on Friday. Oil prices have lost around 20% this year with concerns that Iranian supplies will add to a global surplus. The Wall Street plunge came after markets in Asia and Europe tumbled. China's benchmark Shanghai composite index fell 3.6% following a report that some banks had stopped accepting some stocks as collateral for loans. The U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0.1% in December from the previous month. And the Federal Reserve reported that industrial production dropped 0.4%. The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 are down nearly 9% so far this year while the Nasdaq is down 11%. Concerns about China the world's second-largest economy its weakening currency and turmoil in its stock markets have kept investors shy of risky assets. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) fell 5.9% to $291.81 even after the firm said its earnings jumped on the back of higher fees. Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) were 3.9% lower after the bank posted a profit that was flat as low oil prices hurt the country's fourth-largest bank by assets. Citigroup (NYSE:C) fell 6.7% to $42.34 even as its profit soared last quarter on decreased litigation costs. Analog Devices slumped 3% ti $49.00 after it cut its revenue outlook late Thursday. Market Open The opening on Wall Street has been every bit as bleak as expected with energy companies featuring prominently in the rout. The S&P 500 opened around 42 points lower at 1880; the Dow Jones shed 383 at 15996 and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 124 points to 4489. Energy plays Marathon (NYSE:MRO) and CONSOL (NYSE:C="" rel="5906">NYSE:CNX) were slammed losing 8.45 and 6.1% respectively as the price of oil fell below US$30 a barrel. Results from Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) missed estimates sending shares in the nuts & bolts maker tumbling 6.4%. Code Rebel (BASDAQ:CDRB) bucked the trend almost doubling in price after it announced plans to merge with privately-held Aegis Identity. Also on the up was live events and digital entertainment content company SFX Entertainment (NASDAQ:SFXE) up 51% after it closed its US$20mln financing. Pre-open Having hit the comeback trail yesterday US stocks are set to resume the journey south today with investors fretting about China and oil. Spread betting quotes suggest the benchmark index the S&P 500 will open a hefty 33 points lower at around 1889. The Dow Jones average is seen opening at around 16097 versus last night's close of 16379. Reports suggest beleaguered oil companies could be hit with further headwinds if Iran ups its oil output. Millions of extra barrels of Iranian crude oil could begin spilling on to world markets next week adding further to fierce downward pressure on prices the paper writes. The news had an adverse effect on the oil price with a barrel of Brent crude slipping 3.4% to US$29.86 while the West Texas Intermediate price dropped 5% to US$29.71. In China the central bank injected US$15mln of liquidity into the market via a medium-term lending facility. Domestically attention will be on advance retail sales data producer prices industrial production and the start of the banking results season.