Markets slide Friday

Stocks slid Friday pressured by the energy sector and word Canada's gross domestic product slipped to 1.8 percent growth in December. Canada's December GDP compared with 4.2 percent growth in November. Light sweet crude slid to $106.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Also, 25 of 27 European nations signed a pact that mandates stricter fiscal discipline. In Europe, markets were mixed and in Asia they were mostly higher. At the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 2.73 points or 0.02 percent to 12,977.57, recouping steeper losses earlier in the day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gave up 4.46 points or 0.32 percent to 1,369.63. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index shed 12.78 points or 0.43 percent to 2,976.19. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,007 issues advanced while 2,021 declined on volume of 3.341 billion shares. The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 1r/32 to yield 1.981 percent. The euro fell to $1.3197 from Thursday's $1.3312. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 81.8 yen from 81.11 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.72 percent, 69.67 points, to 9,777.03. In London, the FTSE 100 index shed 0.34 percent, 20.12, to 5,911.13.