Stocks fall for 4th-straight week

Associated Press

NEW YORK

A growing belief that the U.S. economy may be headed toward recession gave the stock market its fourth- straight week of losses.

The anxiety in the market was obvious Friday as the major indexes went from moderate gains early in the day to another sharp loss. The Dow Jones industrial average had its 10th move of more than 100 points in 15 trading days this month.

“We just don’t know whether we’re going to have a recession,” said John Burke, head of Burke Financial Strategies.

There was little news to help investors determine their next moves. However, JPMorgan Chase & Co. joined other financial firms and cut its forecast for economic growth during the fourth quarter. It’s now predicting growth at an annual rate of just 1 percent, down from an earlier forecast of 2.5 percent. That added to the recession fears.

Investors disliked the news late Thursday that Hewlett-Packard Co. is planning to exit most of its consumer businesses, including PCs. HP fell 20 percent to a six-year low. HP plans to transform itself into a company that caters to corporations.

After the market rose early, some investors sold in case bad news comes out of Europe over the weekend. European investors also were cautious — banking stocks fell near 21/2-year lows, dragged down by rumors about banks’ potential losses on bonds issued by heavily indebted governments.

“These things usually break out over the weekend, and then you have a mad dash Monday to react to them,” said Mike McGervey, the head of McGervey Wealth Management.

The drop late in the day recalled the 2008 financial crisis. Then, many investors stepped up their selling in the afternoon out of fears about news that might break overnight — or on weekends. Lehman Brothers failed Sunday, Sept. 15. The government took over mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the previous weekend.

The Dow lost 172.93 Friday, or 1.6 percent, and closed at 10,817.65. It was down 4 percent for the week. Since July 21 — four weeks and one day — the Dow is down 15 percent.

Companies that rely on an expanding economy for higher revenue fell. Caterpillar Inc., International Business Machines and Alcoa Inc. each fell more than 2 percent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index fell 17.12, or 1.5 percent, to 1,123.53. It was down 4.7 percent for the week. All 10 industry groups that make up the index fell.

The Nasdaq composite fell 38.59, or 1.6 percent, to 2,341.84. It was down 6.6 percent for the week.