U.S. Markets Fall As Oil Prices Climb

New York, NY (AHN) - U.S. stock markets open lower as crude oil prices rose and home prices drop 15 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 81 points lower to 11,760 at 9:54 Eastern after closing nearly unchanged Monday. The Dow fell 61 percent in pre-open trading. Package-delivery service UPS announced its profits would be off as a result of higher fuel prices.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was falling four points to 1,314, recovering somewhat from a nearly seven-point deficit in trading before the bell.Grocery chain Kroger is scheduled to report earnings later today.

The housing market was making news as new data indicated prices were off 15.3 percent in April compared to a year ago, marking a decline lasting 21 months. The S&P/ Case-Shiller survey of homes in 20 U.S. markets found home prices in April were 1.4 percent lower than March.

A smaller 10-city survey found a 16.3 percent drop compared to a year ago and a 1.6 percent decline for April.

Elsewhere, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 15 points to 2,369 as Nokia announced it will pay $410 million to buy the remaining shares of cell phone operating system maker Symbian. Virgin Mobile also said it would launch an unlimited calling plan in July.

Crude oil prices shot up in early trading, then fell, adding $0.26 for $137 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. European shares slid earlier as automakers, home-builders and package-delivery firms were hit by rising fuel prices.

Gold added $0.80 at $888 an ounce.