US stocks ended lower Friday led by banks and brokerages. Concerns over the subprime mortgage industry and higher crude oil prices saw stocks shed early gains.
Investors had been buying up shares before the books closed on the second quarter. The market also pushed higher following the discovery of two cars rigged as bombs in London. But the rise in oil prices pulled stocks lower.
Crude-oil prices jumped $1.11 to close at $70.68 a barrel on concerns about supply availability during the summer.
News of a probe into two Bear Stearns hedge funds heavily invested in subprime mortgages increased worries that the potential fallout could spread throughout the banking industry.
Bear Stearns shares fell 2.8%. Merrill Lynch also dropped almost 3%.
Home builders' shares also slid, reflecting the widening concerns about troubles in the housing and mortgage sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14 points to end at 13,408. The S&P 500 Index lost 2.3 points to end at 1,503 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 5 points to 2,603.
For the week, the Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 inched up 0.05% and the Nasdaq gained 0.6%.
source:economictimes.indiatimes.com
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