By IANS,
New York: US stocks ended lower Friday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq falling for the seventh straight day, as market sentiment was still heavily weighed by concerns over intensified European debt problems.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 25.61 points, or 0.23 percent, to 11,231.94. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was down 3.12 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,158.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 18.57 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,441.51.
Major indexes tumbled more than 4 percent for the week, the worst Thanksgiving week in more than 70 years.
Friday’s holiday-shortened session was once again dominated by European headlines.
Standard & Poor’s Friday downgraded Belgium’s credit rating by one notch to AA, further underscoring worries over the euro zone debt contagion.
On Thursday, when the US financial markets were all closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday, both Hungary and Portugal suffered credit rating downgrades from major rating agencies, reflecting the debt problems in Europe were escalating.
The serial rating cuts also came after the failure of a German bond auction, which battered confidence in the market as investors worried the powerhouse of the region will also be hampered sooner or later by the debt contagion.