Stocks have fallen on Wall St as investors worry the economic recovery is slowing as lawmakers enter final negotiations over an overhaul of financial rules for banks.
Restrictions are likely to be imposed on trading and investment activities by banks.
The Dow Jones Index was down on Thursday by down 109 points, or 1%, to 10,189.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 26 points, or 1.2%, at 2228.
Earlier, in Europe: FTSE 100 index in London fell 1.5%, the DAX in Frankfurt was down 1.4% and the CAC-40 was down 2.4%.
The Nikkei index in Tokyo was up 5 points to 9928.
The Australian 200 Index was down 6 points, or 0.1%, at 4480.
The NZX 50 fell 5 points, or 0.2%, to close at 3049 on turnover of $50 million.
The New Zealand dollar on Friday was trading at 71.19 US cents, 81.72 Australian cents, 47.60 pence, 63.81 yen and 0.5763 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 68.29.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US75.62 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1245.25 per ounce.
