oil spikes

Stocks fell Friday morning, ahead of a three-day holiday weekend, as investors eyed higher oil and gas prices and geared up for the existing home sales report, due shortly.

Stocks slumped Tuesday morning as oil prices spiked to within 70 cents of $130 a barrel and gas prices inched closer to the $4-a-gallon threshold, raising worries about the threat of inflation in an already weakened economy.

Stocks were mixed early Friday, as any relief about a surprise jump in new home construction was countered by worries about inflation as oil and gas prices hit new records.

Stocks declined Wednesday as weak economic news, spiking commodity prices and a bearish analyst note on investment firm earnings gave investors a reason to bail after the recent advance.