Stocks slip in early trading on WallStreet

Stocks inched lower in morning trading Friday as investors hesitated after pushing the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite to 18-month highs in the previous session. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 20 points or 0.2% after ending the previous session at the highest point since Oct. 1, 2008. The Dow has now ended higher for eight straight sessions, matching the winning streak that ended on Aug. 27 of last year.The S&P 500 index (SPX) lost 3 points or 0.3% after finishing the previous session at its highest point since Sept. 26, 2008. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 12 points or 0.5% after ending the previous session at the highest point since Aug. 28, 2008, a nearly 19-month high.Stocks were pushed higher Thursday, when investors welcomed reports that suggest pricing pressure remains mild and that jobless claims fell last week."Some investors are concerned it's been a long rally and some kind of retrenchment is needed," said Robert Brusca, chief economist at Fact and Opinion Economics. "But the economy is doing well, so the stock market can be underpinned at a higher level."Economy: No economic reports were on tap for Friday, after Thursday's heavy influx of data on inflation, jobless claims and manufacturing.Quadruple witching: Markets may also be a bit volatile due to quadruple witching -- a quarterly event when stock index futures and options as well as individual stock futures and options all expire at the same time. The event can lead to wide fluctuations in prices of the underlying stocks and increased volatility in the broader market. But recently the witching's impact tends to be spread throughout the week, rather than hitting in the last hour of the session Friday, as was once the case.Companies: After the closing bell Thursday, smart phone maker Palm (PALM) reported a loss of 61 cents per share for the quarter ended Feb. 28. Analysts expected a loss of only 43 cents per share. Palm has not posted a quarterly profit since the fourth fiscal quarter of 2007.Shares of Palm plunged 18% in morning trading.World markets: Asian stocks ended higher. Japan's Nikkei index rose 0.8% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong hiked 0.2%.In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX were up in afternoon trading.The dollar and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro, pound and yen on lingering concerns about Greek debt. Crude oil for April delivery fell 15 cents to $82.05 a barrel, and the price of gold for April delivery decreased an ounce to $1,103.90.Treasurys: The price of the benchmark 10-year note rose and its yield fell to 3.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. MarketsLastChange% ChangeDow10,728.83-50.34-0.47%Nasdaq2,372.78-18.50-0.77%S&P 5001,159.22-6.61-0.57%Treasurys3.66-0.01-0.22%U.S. Dollar1.35-0.02-1.49%Gold SPOT MARKET IS OPENcloses in 5 hrs. 7 mins.Mar 19, 2010 12:09 NY Time Bid/Ask1104.90-1105.90 Low/High1103.40-1128.10 Change-21.00 -1.87%30daychg-1.90 -0.17%1yearchg+145.90 +15.21%Mar 19, 2010 12:09 NY Time Change Silver17.04-0.35 Platinum1599.00-29.00 Palladium468.00-8.00 Rhodium2,370.000.00Crude Oil80.34-1.86 http://bit.ly/a0z70b