AlQa'dah 3, 1432, Oct 1, 2011, SPA - U.S. stocks finished lower on Friday, with all three major indexes falling over 2 percent, as investors remained worried about the debt crisis in Europe and the outlook for global economic growth. In world markets, European stocks ended lower, with the declines led by the DAX in Germany falling 2.7 percent. Asians markets also ended lower, with the declines led by the Hang Seng in Hong Kong falling 2.3 percent. Investors worried that Europe's intensifying debt problems would threaten to affect the region's banking sector, and they were concerned over signs showing that the U.S. economy is slowing down. In U.S. economic news, Americans' incomes fell for the first time in almost two years in August, the Commerce Department reported. The department said consumer spending rose 0.2 percent, in line with economist expectations, after jumping 0.7 percent in July. Meanwhile, the University of Michigan's final reading on consumer sentiment in September was revised up to 59.4 from the preliminary reading of 57.8. The U.S. dollar rose versus the euro and versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery fell $1.46 to $80.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose $14.50 to $1,631.90 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 240.6, or 2.2 percent, to 10,913.38. Alcoa was the worst performer on the index, as shares of the aluminum producer fell 5 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 28.98, or 2.5 percent, to 1,131.42. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 65.36, or 2.6 percent, to 2,415.40.
