NEW YORK - US STOCKS slumped at the opening on Friday as glum corporate news and a weaker-than-expected report on US retail sales prompted caution after a huge rally a day earlier.

In the first 15 minutes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average skidded 85.06 points (0.96 per cent) to 8,750.19 after a 552-point surge on Thursday.

The Nasdaq composite fell 26.13 points (1.64 per cent) to 1,570.57 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 10.88 points (1.19 per cent) to 900.41.

The mood sobered as the market braced for a summit of leaders of the Group of 20 on the economic crisis and weak forecasts came from Finnish telecom maker Nokia as well as US retailers JC Penney, Nordstrom, and Kohl's.

Meanwhile the Commerce Department said US retail sales tumbled a record 2.8 per cent in October as consumers hunkered down in the face of a sharply slowing economy.

In Europe, officials said the economy of the 15 nations sharing the euro has slumped into recession for the first time ever.

'Traders are playing it close to the vest heading into the weekend, as news trickling out of the eurozone is pointing to a recession in the 15-country group,' said Ms Andrea Kramer at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

'Meanwhile, speculation in regard to this weekend's G20 meeting of top world leaders in Washington has also led to a more cautious tone on Wall Street.' -- AFP