Stocks on Wall Street ended a rough week with a fourth losing day that pushed the major indexes further back into the red for the year.However, other world markets rallied on Friday, particularly Europe, where Germany's economy is showing strong growth.Th
Stocks on Wall Street ended a rough week with a fourth losing day that pushed the major indexes further back into the red for the year.
However, other world markets rallied on Friday, particularly Europe, where Germany's economy is showing strong growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16.80 points, or 0.16%, to 10,303.15, a drop of 3.3% for the week.
The slump came on weak economic data and a US Federal Reserve statement pointing to a slowdown in the economic recovery. While consumer sentiment rose and retail sales were up in cars, demand fell in many other categories.
The S&P 500 index slipped 0.40% to 1079.25 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.77% to 2173.48. The S&P 500 was off 3.8% on the week, while the Nasdaq tumbled even more, losing 5.0%.
Tech stocks, along with consumer-discretionary shares, were the worst-performing sectors on Friday. Retailer JC Penney shed 4.2% after swinging to a profit in the second quarter but offering cautious earnings and revenue forecasts.
Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European shares ended slightly higher, with an early boost from strong economic data.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to 255.56, snapping a three-session losing streak. But it fell 1.2% for the week.
The euro-zone economy grew at its fastest quarterly pace in four years in the second quarter, boosted by much stronger-than-expected German growth.
The UK FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 5275.44, the French CAC-40 index declined 0.3% to 3610.91 and the German DAX index gave up 0.4% to 6110.41.
Asia stocks were generally higher, rebounding from recent losses. Tokyo shares ended up 0.4% at 9253.46, with the Nikkei Stock Average snapping a five-day losing streak on dip-buying in select blue-chip shares such as Sony.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.3% to 4459.59, Korea's Kospi Composite rose 1.4% to 1746.24 and China's Shanghai Composite was up 1.2% to 2606.70.
Hong Kong was the only major market to end in negative territory, with the Hang Seng Index easing 0.2% to 21,071.57.
Singapore's Straits Times Index added 0.5% to 1965.54, Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.8% to 7891.58 and India’s Sensex rose 0.5%18,167.03.
Commodities: Oil down, gold steady
Crude futures settled slightly lower, down for the fourth straight session, as a strengthening dollar combined with concerns about the slowing economic recovery continued to weigh on prices.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled down 35USc, or 0.5%, at $US75.39 a barrel in New York after falling to $75.01 a barrel, the lowest price in four weeks. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled 41USc lower at $US75.11 a barrel.
Gold futures finished near steady, stalling after a safe-haven rally the previous session. The most actively traded gold contract for December delivery fell 10USc to settle at $US1216.60 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Dollar up, pound down
The dollar rallied against the euro, which hit a three-week low of $US1.2753. The euro also fell to a six-week low of 81.81p and a three-week low of 1.3425 Swiss francs.
The dollar moved above ¥86 on speculation that the Japanese government is getting serious about combating yen strength.
The euro was at $US1.2769 from $US1.2827 late on Thursday. The dollar moved to ¥86.22 from ¥85.91. The euro weakened slightly to ¥110.09 from ¥110.20. The UK pound moved to $US1.5598 from $US1.5582.
