A downgrade of Spain's debt rating rekindled fears about euro-zone debt, triggering a sharp decline in stocks on Wall Street in the last session of May, which posted the market's worst month since February 2009.Fitch Ratings lowered its rating on Spain's
A downgrade of Spain's debt rating rekindled fears about euro-zone debt, triggering a sharp decline in stocks on Wall Street in the last session of May, which posted the market's worst month since February 2009.
Fitch Ratings lowered its rating on Spain's debt to AA+ from AAA, but said the country's outlook was stable.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 122.36 points, or 1.2%, to 10136.63, led by declines of more than 2.5% each in 3M, Bank of America, and Walt Disney.
Boeing fell 1.5%, while Caterpillar was off 2.1%.
Outside the Dow, American depositary shares of BP fell 5.4% as the company continued efforts to cap a leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. Apple rose 1.4% as its iPad made its debut outside the US, drawing long lines of eager consumers of a product that is still in short supply.
The Dow’s 7.9% drop for May snapped a three-month winning streak and set its worst percentage performance for May since 1962.
The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 0.9% to 2257.04, off 8.3% for May. The S&P 500 slipped 1.2% to 1089.40, down 8.2% for May. Both suffered their worst monthly declines since November 2008.
Other markets: Europe down, Asia up
European shares fell as early strength was sapped by discouraging US consumer spending, while BP and Prudential PLC also weighed on the market.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.3% to 244.01, paring its weekly gain to 2.9%. The decline came after two days of strong gains. Over the course of the month the index has lost 6.1%.
The German DAX rose 0.2% to 5946.18, taking its weekly gain to 2%. The UK FTSE 100 index slipped 0.1% to 5188.43, giving it a 2.5% weeky gain. The French CAC-40 index fell 0.3% to 3515.06, but gained 2.5% for the week.
Japanese stocks helped lead Asian markets higher, rising for the third straight session as bullish US and European bourses, combined with higher raw-materials prices, sparked a broad relief rally.
The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.3%, to 9762.98. but still lost 0.2% for the week and remains down 12% for May.
Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.8% to 4457.49, adding 3.5% for the week. South Korea's Kospi gained 1% to 1622.78, rising 1.4% for the week, it's 14th gain of the past 16 weeks.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.7% to 19766.71, giving it a 1.1% gain for the week.
Commodities: Oil down, gold steady
Crude-oil prices fell below $US74 a barrel after the dollar strengthened.
The price of the light, sweet crude-oil futures contract for July delivery fell 58USc, or 0.8%, to $US73.97 a barrel in New York.
North Sea Brent crude on London's ICE futures exchange fell 64USc, or 0.9%, to $US74.02.
Gold futures are treading water as safe-haven purchases earlier in the week have tapered off.
Gold futures for August delivery were unchanged at $US1,214.40 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Euro down, dollar up
The euro dropped after a credit-rating downgrade of Spain sparked fresh concern over euro-zone sovereign debt, leading investors to file out of riskier assets.
The euro is now down about 7% for the month, extending its decline for the year to about 15%.
The euro was at $US1.2281 from $US1.2362 late on Thursday. The dollar was at ¥90.91 from ¥90.94, while the euro was at ¥111.68 from ¥112.42.
The UK pound was at $US1.4452 from $US1.4584.
