The dollar edged higher on Friday and was on track to end January with gains of more than 5 percent, while stock indexes around the world fell as data showed U.S. growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter, Reuters reported. The dollar index, bolstered by expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will be the first major central bank to raise interest rates, also was poised to end January with its longest run of gains since the greenback was floated in 1971. It was up 0.1 percent on Friday. U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.6 percent annual pace after the third quarter's spectacular 5 percent rate, the Commerce Department said in its first fourth-quarter GDP snapshot. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 119.87 points, or 0.69 percent, to 17,296.98, the S&P 500 lost 15.79 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,005.46 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 24.40 points, or 0.52 percent, to 4,659.01. European shares were down 0.5 percent, while the MSCI all-country world index declined 0.8 percent. -- SPA 20:44 LOCAL TIME 17:44 GMT تغريد
