Stocks ended the week on a down note, with investors continuing to fret over the European debt crisis and concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,934.58, down 115.42 points or 1 per cent. The broader S&P 500 closed at 1268.45, down 15.05 points or 1.2 per cent. The index has turned in weekly losses for seven of the past eight weeks, although this week's losses were minimal. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index closed at 12,908.89, down 70.69 points or 0.5 per cent.
Commodity producers and information technology stocks were among the worst hit, after Oracle Corp. reported disappointing quarterly results, gold fell sharply and energy stocks drifted lower after Thursday's decline in the price of crude oil.
Oracle fell 4.1 per cent and dragged down other technology names. Cisco Systems Inc. fell 3.5 per cent and Intel Corp. fell 2.4 per cent.
Among commodity producers, Exxon Mobil Corp. fell 2.1 per cent, Suncor Energy Inc. fell 0.8 per cent and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. fell 2.2 per cent. Barrick Gold Corp. fell 1.2 per cent after the price of gold slid to $1,500.90 (U.S.) an ounce, down $19.60.
What's up next week
