Stocks lose most in week this year

Stocks on Wall Street fell on Friday to cap off the year’s biggest weekly decline.

Investors were spooked by slowing growth in China and rising fears about the health Spain’s banking sector.

China's rate of economic growth slowed to 8,1% in the first quarter, down from the 8.3% that economists had forecast.

In Spain, banks sharply increased their borrowing from the European Central Bank and bond rates rose.

This triggered sharp losses in European markets as well.

In the US, a surprise decline in a consumer-sentiment gauge added to the negative sentiment, which also sent oil and gold futures lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 136.99 points, or 1.1%, to 12,949.59, while the S&P 500 lost 1.3% to 1370.26.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.5 % to 3011.33.

The Dow fell 1.6% for week, while the S&P 500 lost 2% and the technology-oriented Nasdaq shed 2.3%.

Other markets: Europe down, Asia up
Spanish stocks plunged to a three-year low, leading European stock markets lower.

Spain's IBEX 35 tumbled 3.6% to 7250.60, a level not seen since March 2009. The losses brought the week's slide to 5.4%, part of a 15% skid so far this year.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.5%, bringing losses for the week to 2.2%.

Italy's FTSE MIB index dropped 3.4% to 14,359.50, the French CAC 40 index fell 2.5% to 3189.09 and the German DAX 30 index dropped 2.4% to 6,583.90.

The UK’s FTSE 100 index shed 1% to 5651.79.

Asian stock markets generally rose, as cooler-than-expected Chinese growth strengthened expectations that Beijing could ease its monetary policies further.

Indian shares fell after software bellwether Infosys delivered a weak revenue outlook.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.8% to 20,701.04 and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average added 1.2% to 9637.99, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1% to 4323.3 and Korea's Kospi gained 1.1% to 2008.91.

China's Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4% to 2359.16 and Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 0.3% to 2987.82.

But in India the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index fell 1.4% to 17094.51.

Commodities: Oil, gold down
Crude-oil futures declined along with share and other markets.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled 81USc, or 0.8%, lower at $US102.83 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange rose 10USc to $US121.81 a barrel.

Gold futures slumped, erasing much of the week's gains.
The June delivery contract fell $US20.40, or 1.2%, to settle at $US1660.20 an ounce in New York. During the week, futures rose 2%.

Currencies: Euro falls
The euro slid against major currencies on growing concerns over Spain's debt burden and solvency.

The euro was at $US1.3076 compared with $US1.3187 late on Thursday. The dollar was at ¥81.04, compared with ¥80.89, while the euro was at ¥105.96 compared with ¥106.65.

The pound was at $US1.5847 from $US1.5961, while the dollar bought 0.9200 Swiss franc from 0.9112 franc.