After moving modestly higher over the course of the three previous sessions, stocks saw notable weakness during trading on Friday. Renewed concerns about the financial situation in Greece contributed to the pullback by the markets.
The major averages moved to the upside going into the close but still ended the day firmly in the red. The Dow slid 89.23 points or 0.7 percent to 12,801.23, the Nasdaq fell 23.35 points or 0.8 percent to 2,903.88 and the S&P 500 dropped 9.31 points or 0.7 percent at 1,342.64.
With the losses on the day, the major averages all closed modestly lower for the week. The Dow fell by 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 edged down by 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
Much of the selling pressure on Wall Street stemmed from news that European finance ministers were unimpressed with the austerity agreement reached by Greek political leaders on Thursday, calling for an additional 325 million euros in savings.
The other eurozone countries are also calling for guarantees that the measures will be implemented before signing off on a new 130 billion euro bailout for the debt-plagued nation.
A report showing a notable drop in Chinese imports in the month of January also contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, with the data raising concerns about the level demand in China.
The report showed that the value of Chinese imports in January was down 15.3 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
Negative sentiment was also generated by the release of a report from Reuters and the University of Michigan showing that U.S. consumer sentiment has deteriorated by more than expected in the month of February.
The report showed that the consumer sentiment index dropped to a reading of 72.5 in February from January's final reading of 75.0. Economists had been expecting the index to edge down to 74.8.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that the U.S. trade deficit came in wider than expected in the month of December, with the value of imports increasing at a faster rate than the value of exports.
Among individual stocks, shares of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) came under pressure after the video game maker reported better than expected fourth quarter results but provided disappointing first quarter guidance. Activision Blizzard fell by 2.7 percent on the day.
Meanwhile, NYSE Euronext (NYX) rose by 4.5 percent after reporting fourth quarter adjusted earnings of $0.50 per share compared to $0.46 per share a year ago. Revenues, excluding transaction-based expenses, rose 2 percent to $628 million. The results were better than expected.
Sector News
Steel stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day amid concerns about the outlook for global demand. The NYSE Arca Steel Index tumbled by 3.1 percent, pulling back further off the six-month closing high it set last Friday.
Mechel (MTL) helped to lead the steel sector lower, sliding by 6.8 percent, while Arcelor Mittal (MT) and AK Steel (AKS) also posted steep losses.
Considerable weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, a reflected by the 2.1 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The loss by the index came after it ended the previous session at its best closing level in eight months.
Gold stock also saw significant weakness, moving lower along with the price of the precious metal. With gold for April delivery falling $15.90 to $1,725.30 an ounce, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index ended the day down by 1.7 percent.
Most of the other major sectors also moved to the downside on the day, reflecting broad based selling pressure. Housing, chemical, oil, and banking stocks posted notable losses.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day down by 1.1 percent.
The major European markets also showed notable moves to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and French CAC 40 Index the dropped by 1.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries rebounded after coming under pressure in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 7.8 basis points to 1.969 percent.
Looking Ahead
New out of Europe is likely to attract attention next week, although traders are also likely to keep a close eye on U.S. reports on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts, jobless claims, and consumer and producer price inflation.
On the earnings front, Avon Products (AVP), MetLife (MET), Goodyear (GT), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Deere (DE), Marriott (MAR), NetApp (NTAP), Nvidia (NVDA), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Heinz (HNZ) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results next week.
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