U.S. Stocks Tumble at the Start

In the earnings department, Freddie Mac (FRE Quote), the mortgage company that has been among those central to the credit crisis, announced a $25.3 billion third-quarter loss.

Retailers were also showing signs of weakness. Department-store operator Kohl's (KSS Quote) reported declining profit and cut its full-year guidance. Nordstrom (JWN Quote) also cut its earnings outlook.

J.C. Penney (JCP Quote) said its profit dropped 53% year over year, and the department-store operator guided below analysts' estimates.

As for analyst actions, UBS lowered its rating on European pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK Quote) to neutral from buy, citing valuation.

Shifting to the day's economic data, the Census Bureau reported that October retail sales declined 2.8%, following a 1.3% decline in September. Economists were expecting a 2.1% decrease.

September business inventories and a preliminary November consumer-sentiment survey from the University of Michigan are also on the docket.

Over in the commodities space, crude oil was down $1.58 to $56.66 a barrel. Gold was adding $37.60 to $742.60 an ounce.

Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were rising in price. The 10-year was up 1-2/32 to yield 3.72%, and the 30-year was surging 2-7/32, yielding 4.23%. The dollar was rising vs. the euro but weakening against the pound and yen.

Abroad, European exchanges, including the FTSE in London and the DAX in Frankfurt, were working their way higher. The European Union disclosed Friday that the 15 countries that use the euro are in recession.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed with gains.