AlQa'dah 10, 1432, Oct 8, 2011, SPA - U.S. stocks finished lower on Friday, as investors weighed a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market against ongoing concerns about the European debt crisis. In world markets, European stocks ended higher, led by both the DAX in Germany and the CAC 40 in France rising 0.5 percent. Asian markets also ended higher, led by the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rising 3.1 percent. Concerns about the debt crisis in Europe grew after Fitch cut its credit ratings for Italy and Spain. Fitch downgraded Italy's long-term default rating one notch to A+, and the rating agency cut its default rating for Spain two notches to AA+. In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said employers added 103,000 jobs in September, much more than expected, while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.1 percent. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and rose versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery rose 39 cents to $82.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose $17.40 to $1,635.80 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 20.21, or 0.2 percent, to 11,103.12. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9.51, or 0.8 percent, to 1,155.46. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 27.47, or 1.1 percent, to 2,479.35.
