News from AAP

US stocks end lower

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A roundup of trading on major world markets:

NEW YORK – It’s going to take more than Facebook’s initial public offering to push the stock market higher.

Facebook shares rose 23 US cents above their $US38 offering price. It seemed as though everything else fell.

The Dow Jones industrial average has been in a slump over the past two weeks as traders saw an increasing risk that Greece could leave the euro, causing more disruptions in markets. Remember the go-go days of May 1, 2012? The Dow was up 8.7 per cent for the year. After Friday, it’s up just 1.2 per cent.

On Friday the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 73.11 points, to close at 12,369.38. It fell 3.5 per cent for the week. The Dow has now declined on 12 of the last 13 trading days.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 9.64 points to close at 1,295.22. The Nasdaq composite index fell 34.90 points, or 1.2 per cent, to close at 2,778.79.

LONDON – European markets fell in nervous trade and the euro hit a new four-month low against the US dollar as a downgrade hit 16 Spanish banks ahead of a key G8 meeting, rattling investors.

At the close, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies lost 1.33 per cent to 5,267.62 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dropped 0.60 per cent to 6,271.22 points and in Paris the CAC 40 fell 0.13 per cent to 3,008.00 points.

Madrid’s IBEX-35 index was up 0.44 per cent at 6,566.70 points, however, and Bankia shares surged as the financial sector staged a dramatic recovery despite the downgrade news.

HONG KONG – Asian markets slumped and the euro fell further as the eurozone debt crisis was stoked by a ratings downgrade for Greece and 16 Spanish banks.

Tokyo tumbled 2.99 per cent, or 265.28 points, to 8,611.31, while Seoul plummeted 3.40 per cent, or 62.78 points, to 1,782.46 and Sydney dived 2.67 per cent, or 110.9 points, to 4,046.5, its biggest fall in eight months.

Hong Kong fell 1.30 per cent, or 249.08 points, to 18,951.85 and Shanghai was 1.44 per cent lower, shedding 34.37 points, to 2,344.52.

WELLINGTON – New Zealand shares beat their regional peers, falling by a paltry 0.6 per cent on Friday, amid growing concerns Europe’s financial stability.

The NZX 50 Index fell 20.06 points, or 0.6 per cent to 3501.44.