By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil prices fell on Friday ahead of a weekend meeting that could yield an output freeze by major producers, while the U.S. dollar and major stock markets edged lower but were set to post weekly gains.
Indexes were little changed on Wall Street for a second day, with the S&P 500 set to close its seventh positive week in the last nine.
The U.S. dollar index fell as traders cashed in after three days of gains and was weighed further by data showing U.S. industrial production fell more than expected in March, the latest indication that economic growth braked sharply in the first quarter.
Both the MSCI index of stocks across the globe and the S&P 500 hit their highest points of the year this week and emerging market stocks <.MSCIEF> racked up their best weekly gain in a month. European shares fell 0.4 percent but were on track to post their largest weekly gain in two months.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.51 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,920.92, the S&P 500 lost 1.06 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,081.72 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.89 points, or 0.04 percent, to 4,947.77.
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Japan's Nikkei <.N225>, one of the biggest losers of 2016 so far, closed 6.5 percent higher for the week following the drop back in the yen.
China's economy grew 6.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, meeting expectations and providing additional evidence that a slowdown in the world's second largest economy may be bottoming out.
The dollar index slipped 0.2 percent after the U.S. currency gained more than 1 percent against both the yen and the euro this week.
Speculation was still widespread about whether top oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will be able to reach a deal in Qatar on Sunday to curb output.
"Momentum is building behind an agreement that likely excludes Iran (and potentially Libya). While there will likely be little effect on the physical market an agreement would represent an important psychological shift in setting oil prices," investment bank Jefferies said on Friday.
Brent crude futures were down 3 percent at $42.54 and U.S. crude futures were down 3.1 percent, trading at $40.22.
Safe-haven gold was on course for a weekly loss, the first in three.
U.S. Treasury yields fell after the weaker-than-expected reading on industrial output.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 7/32 in price to yield 1.757 percent, from 1.781 percent late Thursday.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Nick Zieminski)