World stocks erased the year's gains Friday as investors fled risky investments for safe-haven assets on concerns about the euro zone's deepening debt woes, while US stocks lost ground after the market debut of social network Facebook failed to lift optimism. US stocks fell Friday after a sloppy debut by Facebook Inc spoiled hopes that a spectacular open for the most-anticipated stock sale in years would brighten the mood in what has been a gloomy month for equity markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 74.70 points, or 0.60 percent, to 12,367.79 in closing trade. The S&P 500-stock index shed 9.77 (0.75 percent) to 1,295.09. The tech-rich Nasdaq, where Facebook's shares began trading under the FB ticker, tumbled 34.90 (1.24 percent) to 2,778.79. The dollar fell against the euro for the first time in a week, as excitement about Facebook's initial public offering overshadowed problems in Europe. The euro rose to $1.2737 in late trading Friday from $1.2714 late Thursday. The US currency has been rising against the euro ever since Greece held elections in early May. A stronger dollar and diminished global demand for oil amid ample supplies also contributed to oil wrapping up the week almost five percent lower. Crude oil prices fell ahead of a weekend meeting in which President Barack Obama and leaders of the world's biggest economies will search for ways to help Europe resolve its ongoing debt crisis. Benchmark US crude fell $1.08 to finish at $91.48 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, which used to price many international varieties of oil, fell 37 cents to settle at $107.14 a barrel in London. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 closed 0.7 percent lower at 5,267.62 while Germany's DAX dropped 0.6 percent to 6,271.22. France's CAC-40 shed 0.1 percent to 3,008. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 3 percent to close at 8,611.31, its lowest finish in four months as signs of weakness in the US, a critical export market for Japanese companies, battered some of the country's behemoth manufacturers. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.3 percent to 18,951.85 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 2.7 percent to 4,046.50. South Korea's Kospi tumbled 3.4 percent to 1,782.46. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand also fell. Mainland Chinese shares lost ground, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index losing 1.4 percent to 2,344.52. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.5 percent to 940.91.
