Share trading posted its first increase on Wall Street since May 6's "flash crash," which turned many investors off the market.But their return failed to shift negative sentiment that the European debt crisis is far from over.The Dow Jones Indus
Share trading posted its first increase on Wall Street since May 6's "flash crash," which turned many investors off the market.
But their return failed to shift negative sentiment that the European debt crisis is far from over.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week on Friday by slipping 162.79 points, or 1.5%, to 10,620.16. However. the index gained 239.73-point, or 2.3%, for its biggest weekly rise in two months, thanks largely to Monday's 404.71-point surge.
The Nasdaq Composite slid 2% to 2346.85 on Friday but was up 3.6% for the week. The S&P 500 was off 1.9%, hurt by selling in every sector, to 1135.68. But it finished with a weekly gain of 2.2%.
Other markets: Europe, Asia down
Nervous investors dumped European banks and miners on renewed fears over government debt loads and the risk of slowing economic growth.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 3.4% to end at 248.37, sharply cutting gains made earlier in the week on the €750 billion aid package for vulnerable members of the euro zone.
Spanish banks plunged; Banco Santander skidded 9% and BBVA lost 7.6%, pulling the Spanish Ibex 35 index down 6.6% to 9314.70.
Among major national benchmarks, the French CAC-40 index fell 4.6% to 3560.36, the UK FTSE 100 index dropped 3.1% to 5262.85 and the German DAX index lost 3.1% to 6056.71.
Asian markets generally slipped on Friday but most took home weekly gains, thanks to a rally earlier in the week.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.5% to 10462.51. Sony slumped 6.8% after announcing a disappointing outlook for the year ending March 2011.
Other exporters also declined after the yen strengthened against the euro. Nikon dropped 2.9% and Nintendo gave up 3%, while Mazda Motor lost 1.9%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1.4% to 20,145.43 because of declines in companies with significant business in Europe.
The market in Thailand scraped out a 0.3% gain to 768.79, despite rising political tensions, as some investors gambled on the prospect of a resolution to anti-government protests.
Commodities: Oil, gold down
Crude oil slid to a fresh three-month low near $US71 a barrel as volatility across markets magnified existing concerns about the buildup of supplies.
The market is now poised for a test of the $US70-a-barrel level. The last time benchmark crude-oil futures in New York ended below that level was in December.
Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery settled at $US71.61 a barrel, down $US2.79 a barrel, or 3.8%. That is the lowest settlement price since February 5.
Gold prices pulled back after setting a fresh intraday record, but analysts dismissed the day's decline as little more than profit-taking ahead of the weekend.
Indeed, gold gained on the week as investors sought assets perceived to be safe amid broad market turmoil.
After hitting a fresh intraday record of $US1249.70 an ounce, the most actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, settled at $US1,227.80, down $US1.40, or 0.1%, on the day. Gold gained 1.4% on the week.
The front-month but lightly traded May contract also eased $US1.40, or 0.1%, to $US1227.40. It, too, gained 1.4% on the week, its fourth consecutive weekly gain and set a front-month settlement record of $US1242.70 on Wednesday.
Currencies: Euro down, dollar up
Confidence in the euro has been steadily eroding since Tuesday, falling to its lowest level since October 2008 on Friday.
It was at $US1.2381, from $US1.2532 late on Thursday. It also fell against the yen to ¥114.30, down from ¥116.24.
The US dollar was down slightly at ¥92.35, from ¥92.68 while the UK pound was at $US1.4537, down from $US1.4614.
