Stocks slipped in choppy trading on Friday, as sliding crude oil prices prompted some selling in the energy sector and bank shares fell following a two-month run-up.

A batch of stronger-than-expected data that reinforced hopes the recession is easing gave the market an early lift, but it was short-lived.

Top drags on the Dow industrials were shares of Chevron , down 1.9 percent at $65.92, and Exxon Mobil , down 1 percent at $69.06, as U.S. crude futures fell $1.47, or 2.5 percent, to $57.15 per barrel. Earlier, oil futures slid as much as 3 percent.

JPMorgan shares , down 2.4 percent at $34.69, were another drag on the blue-chip index and contributed to the 2.8 percent decline in the KBW bank index <.BKX>. That index has doubled since early March.

The headlines that are coming out are no longer giving the market the pop that it was getting every so often and that is a little concerning, said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.

Bank stocks are long overdue for a sell-off. But (Friday) is options expirations, so I don't think they are going to get totally annihilated, he said.

Options expiration added to volatility.

Equity options and some options on stock indexes stop trading at Friday's close and expire on Saturday. Typically, options expiration is orderly but some volatility may occur as players unwind those positions against stock and index products.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 43.33 points, or 0.52 percent, to 8,287.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 8.43 points, or 0.94 percent, to 884.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dipped 1.46 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,687.75.

The S&P 500 has risen 31 percent from its 12-year low hit two months ago, but is down about 5 percent for the week. The Nasdaq is down 2.8 percent since Monday and it could close its first negative week since the first week of March.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)

New Jersey Investment