(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished mostly lower on Friday as a profit warning from oil giant Chevron and poor consumer sentiment data spooked investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 36.65 points or 0.45% to finish at 8,146.52. The S&P 500 fell 3.55 points or 0.40% to end at 879.13. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.48 points or 0.20% to 1,756.03.

Shares of JP Morgan (NYSE: ) plunged $1.28 cents or 3.81% to $32.34.

Energy stocks finished with significant losses. Late on Thursday, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: ) said in its interim quarterly update, that it faces "significantly lower" results from its refining and marketing operations in the second-quarter compared with the first quarter. The oil major also said that while higher oil prices boosted earnings in its exploration and production activities, the gains were "largely offset by substantial unfavorable currency effects." Chevron is scheduled to report its second-quarter results on July 31. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: ) tumbled $1.68 or 2.66% to $61.40.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE: ) slumped 85 cents or 1.29% to $65.12.

Shares of IBM (NYSE: ) slipped $1.25 or 1.22% to $100.83.

Merck & Co. (NYSE: ) plummeted $1.03 or 3.67% to $27.01.

General Motors Corp (GMGMQ.PK) completed the sale of its good assets to a new government-backed carmaker and emerged out of bankruptcy on Friday.

Shares of CIT group (NYSE: CIT) sank 33 cents or 17.74% to $1.53. According to media reports, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or FDIC, is not willing to give troubled commercial lender access to the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program due to the deterioration in the company's credit quality and on concerns about the risk to taxpayers' money.
 
Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR) slid $2.47 or 9.44% to $23.69 after it said that fiscal third-quarter net income fell to $7.9 billion, or 9 cents a share, from $51.9 million, or 62 cents a share, in the year ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 57 cents a share, compared to 67 cents last year. Revenue remained relatively flat at $1.8 billion. The company said its backlog of unfilled orders at May 31, 2009, was a record $22.9 billion, up from $15.6 billion last fall.

The International Energy Agency predicts global oil demand will rebound in 2010, recovering from the fastest drop since the early 1980s as the world economy emerges from worst recession in decades.

On the economic front, a release by the Commerce Department on Friday showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 9.8% in May to $25.96 billion in June.

The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment declined to 64.6 in July from 70.8 in the previous month. Economists expected a reading of 70.5 for July.

Elsewhere, the Bank of England on Thursday kept its key lending rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5%.

European stocks settled down. The UK FTSE slid 31.49 points or 0.76% to 4,127.17. The German DAX and French CAC increased 1.26% and 0.54% respectively.

Asian stocks finished lower. The Nikkei 225 dropped 3.78 points or 0.04% to 9,287.28.  The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell 82.17 points or 0.46% to end at 17,708.42.

NYMEX crude oil for August delivery declined 52 cents or 0.9% to $59.89 a barrel.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.