Christina Rexrode Associated Press

You have viewed free articles or blogs allowed within a 30-day period. Receive FREE access by logging in to or creating your Spokesman.com account.

• Log In to your Spokesman.com account for unlimited viewing and commenting access.
• Don’t have a Spokesman.com account? Create a Spokesman.com profile and register for FREE access.

S-R Media, The Spokesman-Review and Spokesman.com are happy to assist you. Contact Customer Service by email or call 800-338-8801

NEW YORK – For the past few days, the U.S. stock market was able to forget about problems in Europe.

Friday put Europe squarely back in the spotlight.

U.S. stocks fell sharply as escalating problems in Spain jolted investors. Spain’s stock market plunged 6 percent and its borrowing costs spiked after a regional government asked for a financial lifeline.

The drop on Wall Street, which sent the Dow Jones industrial average down as much as 133 points, marked a U-turn for the market. Stocks had risen over the past three days as investors focused on healthy earnings from

You have viewed 20 free articles or blogs allowed within a 30-day period. FREE registration is now required for uninterrupted access.

Registration Required

• log in to your Spokesman.com account for unlimited viewing and commenting access.
• Don’t have a Spokesman.com account? Create a Spokesman.com profile and register for FREE access.

S-R Media, The Spokesman-Review and Spokesman.com are happy to assist you. Contact Customer Service by email or call 800-338-8801

NEW YORK – For the past few days, the U.S. stock market was able to forget about problems in Europe.

Friday put Europe squarely back in the spotlight.

U.S. stocks fell sharply as escalating problems in Spain jolted investors. Spain’s stock market plunged 6 percent and its borrowing costs spiked after a regional government asked for a financial lifeline.

The drop on Wall Street, which sent the Dow Jones industrial average down as much as 133 points, marked a U-turn for the market. Stocks had risen over the past three days as investors focused on healthy earnings from U.S. companies like Mattel, Honeywell and Coca-Cola.

On Friday, talk of sluggishness in Europe was prevalent as more companies turned in their quarterly results.

Staffing agency Manpower fell 6 percent, to $33.46, and chip maker Advanced Micro Devices fell 13 percent, to $4.22, after reporting that weak demand in Europe had dragged down second-quarter revenue.

Xerox trimmed its earnings forecasts as Europeans bought less equipment. Ingersoll-Rand, whose products include Trane air conditioners, cut its revenue prediction for the same reason. Xerox fell 49 cents to $6.70, and Ingersoll-Rand lost $1.22 to $40.25.

All the major U.S. stock indexes fell. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 120.79 points to 12,822.57. The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 13.85 to 1,362.66. The Nasdaq composite index lost 40.60 to 2,925.30. All three indicators were down about 1 percent. They eked out tiny gains for the week and are about flat for the month to date.

The country’s six megabanks – Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo – all fell. Investors are concerned about an array of recent challenges, including Moody’s downgrades at all the banks except Wells, and net job cuts over the year at all the banks except JPMorgan.