Wall Street fell Friday morning on weak economic data.

In the early trading, Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 22.83 to 12,199.10. The Standard and Poor's 500 index lost 3.81 to 1,396.82. The Nasdaq composite index decreased 14.09 to 2,417.68.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that building activity dropped 1 percent in October following a 0.8 percent fall in September. It was the biggest decline since a similar 1 percent drop in September 2001.

Meanwhile a key survey showed that manufacturing activity declined in November and raised concerns that the economy won't be able to achieve a soft landing.

Later Friday, Federal Reserve officials would give speeches on the direction of interest rates.

Source: Xinhua