Wall Street ends quarter with steep drops
Concerns about the global economy and European debt that have plagued markets for months, pushed major stock indices on Wall Street to their worst quarterly losses in years on Friday.
US markets followed European bourses lower following a bigger-than-forecastincrease in inflation to 3 per cent in the 17-member eurozone adding to the pressures on the currency bloc's economy.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 240.6 points, or 2.16 per cent, to 10,913.38 per cent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 28.98 points, or 2.5 per cent, to 1,131.42. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 65.36 points, or 2.63 per cent, to 2,415.4.
The quarterly losses on Wall Street were the worst since the financial crisis in late 2008 and early 2009. The Dow plummeted 12.1 per cent for the quarter, the S&P dropped 14.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq fell 12.9 per cent in the three months ended Friday.
For the week, the picture was mixed with the Dow adding 1.3 per cent, the S&P slipping 0.4 per cent, and the Nasdaq down 2.7 per cent.
The US currency gained against the euro to 74.7 euro cents from 73.58 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar was also up against the Japanese currency to 77.06 yen from 76.82 yen.
