U.S. stocks decline on Brexit concerns

U.S. stocks ticked down in the morning session Friday, as fears about a possible Brexit continued to weigh on the market.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 102.21 points, or 0.58 percent, to 17,630.89. The S&P 500 lost 12.02 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,065.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 47.91 points, or 0.99 percent, to 4,797.01.

Investors became cautious ahead of next week's scheduled Brexit vote. A referendum will be held on Thursday, 23 June, to decide whether Britain should leave or remain in the European Union.

"The unfortunate murder of the British (pro-remain) politician, Jo Cox, has caused an obvious suspension of the campaigning around the Brexit vote in the UK," said Stephen Guilfoyle, managing director at Deep Value, on Friday.

On the economic front, U.S. privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.164 million units, 0.3 percent below the revised April estimate, according to the U.S. Commerce Department Friday.

Meanwhile, investors continued to assess the impacts of the Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

According to the Fed's statement after the policy meeting, the central bank still leans toward hiking rates, but its six members now believe there will be just one rate hike this year.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks reversed early losses to end higher, with all three major indices snapping a five-day losing streak, as Wall Street digested a batch of economic data. Endite