U.S. stocks fell Friday as oil prices touched another record high and Microsoft Corp. dragged on the major indexes after the software maker's revenue forecast lagged analysts' expectations. U.S. crude oil futures climbed to $55.45 a barrel as traders and players fretted over supplies of heating fuels as winter approaches in the northern hemisphere. The Microsoft news late on Thursday overshadowed better-than-expected earnings from Web search company Google Inc., whose shares shot up more than 17 percent to $176. Microsoft fell 2 percent to $28. Prudential Equity Group forecast a $200 share price for Google. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 13.34 points, or 0.14 percent, at 9,852.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.92 of a point, or 0.08 percent, at 1,105.58. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 13.56 points, or 0.69 percent, at 1,940.06. "Oil spiking up is not helping things," said Jim Fehrenbach, head of Nasdaq trading at Piper Jaffray, Minneapolis. "Things like Microsoft and Broadcom were not enough to get the market that excited." --More 0043 Local Time 2143 GMT
