Stock Market Watch

Stocks End Lower; Post Biggest Weekly Drop of 2012

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Stocks ended lower in trading today as ongoing worries about the euro zone debt crisis overshadowed excitement over Facebook Inc.’s (NASDAQ: FB) trading debut. All three major indexes posted their biggest weekly drop of 2012.

The Dow Jones ended the day 0.59% lower at 12,369.38, the S&P 500 ended the day0.74% lower at 1,295.22, and the Nasdaq ended the day 1.24% lower. All sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day in red, with Transportation and Technology stocks leading the losses. For the week, the Dow Jones fell 3.52%, the S&P 500 fell 4.3%, and the Nasdaq fell 5.28%.


Stocks remained under pressure throughout the week due to the ongoing euro zone debt crisis. Earlier today, Moody’s downgraded the long-term debt rating and deposit ratings of 16 Spanish banks, including Banco Santander, which is the euro zone’s largest bank. The move from Moody’s came a day after Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece’s credit rating to CCC from B- amid heightened worries that debt-laden country might have to exit the euro zone.

European markets ended mostly lower in trading today, with the FTSE 100 Index in London falling 1.33%, and the CAC 40 Index in Paris falling 0.13%. Asian markets also fell in trading overnight.

Social networking giant Facebook today made its trading debut after completing a successful IPO on Thursday. Facebook’s IPO was prized at $38 per share. Facebook shares surged 10% initially but gave up most of their gains by the end of the day, finishing just 0.71% above the IPO price. The stock traded on volume of 573.58 million.

Other stocks that remained in focus today were Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), which ended the day 8.28% higher at $30.33, and Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA), which ended the day 13.42% lower at $7.16.

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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