Major US stock indices fell sharply Friday, reversing gains for the week as company earnings came in lower than expected and falling consumer confidence sparked fears of a weakening US economic recovery, dpa reported.
General Electric and Citigroup posted higher profits but still disappointed investors. Bank of America shares fell nearly 10 per cent as the bank reported overall profit gains but a loss in its mortgage and Wall Street trading businesses.
A consumer confidence index from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters dropped to 66.5, its lowest reading since August 2009, down from 76 in June.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 261.41 points, or 2.52 per cent, to 10,097.9. The broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index plunged 31.6 points, or 2.88 per cent, to 1,064.88. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index plummeted 70.03 points, or 3.11 per cent, to 2,179.05.
All three stock indices had rallied through much of the week amid better-than-expected earnings reports from companies like Alcoa and Intel.
With Friday's losses, the Dow was down 0.98 per cent for the week. The S&P 500 fell 1.21 per cent and the Nasdaq dropped 0.79 per cent in the last five days of trading.
The US currency was unchanged Friday at 77.37 euro cents and fell against the Japanese currency to 86.67 yen from 87.4 yen on Thursday.
The cost of living in the United States meanwhile decreased by 0.1 per cent in June, marking the third straight monthly drop on the back of falling petrol prices. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, consumer prices climbed 0.2 per cent, the Labour Department reported.