Stocks Open Lower after Mixed Earnings

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, as investors digested a slew of major earnings and awaiting a reading on the consumer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 72.12 points, or 0.46%, to 15,483.49. The S&P 500 index lost 6.83 points, or 0.40%, to 1,683.42. The Nasdaq Composite fell 14.89 points, or 0.41%, to 3,590.30.

The dollar held at a five-week low and gold headed for its best month in over 1-1/2 years on Friday, after a report that the U.S. Federal Reserve will next week underline its intention to keep interest rates low for a long time.

UBS will pay $885 million in a settlement with a U.S. regulator over allegations the Swiss bank misrepresented mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, paving the way for billions more to be paid by other banks.

Halliburton Co. will plead guilty to destroying evidence in the wake of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The government said Thursday that the company, a contractor involved in drilling the oil well that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, destroyed computer simulations it performed in the months after the accident.

Activision Blizzard in an $8.2 billion deal aims to buy back the majority stake in the company from Vivendi, which Activision merged with five years ago.