Morning Market Roundup: Stocks, Meet G-20

Here’s what’s shaking:

Stocks:

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Futures are falling as the Group of 20 gathers in Moscow, where currency exchange policy, particularly in Japan, will likely dominate discussions.

Dow Jones industrial futures are down 12 points to 13,938. The broader S&P futures have lost 1.6 points to 1,516.90. Nasdaq futures are down 1.75 points to 2,765.50.

Japan has been forcing the value of the yen lower, which is advantageous for trade. That is likely to continue after it reported Thursday that its economy shrank for the third consecutive quarter.

Earlier this week, the yen fell to a 21-month low against the dollar and a near three-year low against the euro.

Oil:

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Oil prices fell below $97 Friday a day after disappointing European economic figures highlighted the region's parlous growth outlook.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for March delivery was down 74 cents to $96.57 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 30 cents to finish at $97.31 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.

Figures Thursday showed economic output in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, contracted by more than anticipated in the last three months of 2012. And France, Europe's second-biggest economy, also saw output drop.

As a result, the recession across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro deepened during the quarter.

Some analysts expect the leading European economies to start turning a corner soon.

Brent crude, which is used to price oil that many U.S. refineries buy to make gasoline, was down 41 cents to $117.59 per barrel in London.

Markets:

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The AP contributed to this report.