NEW YORK — U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending under 12,000 for the first time in three months, as escalating oil prices and more trouble in the financial sector compounded market anxiety.
“Investors have been unwilling to step up and buy stocks because the markets continue to get pressured by the same old story,” including worries about higher energy costs and losses linked to financials, said Robert Pavlik, chief investment officer at Oaktree Asset Management.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude-oil futures for July delivery gained $2.69 to end at $134.62 a barrel, up 2 percent on the day but down 0.2 percent for the week.
Down 464.66 points, or 3.8 percent, for the week, the Dow ended at 11,842.69, off 220.40 points, or 1.8 percent, for the session.
The blue-chip index had not closed below 12,000 since March 17, when it ended at 11,972.25. Friday’s finish marked its lowest close since March 10, when it settled at 11,740.15.
Of its 30 components, 29 posted losses, with the bleeding led by shares of General Motors Corp., down 6.8 percent.
The automaker and rivals Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler all drew negative attention from Standard & Poor’s, which warned it might downgrade the ratings of all three companies after a review of deteriorating industry conditions.
Off the Dow, shares of Ford slid 8.1 percent.
The Coca-Cola Co. proved the sole member of the Dow 30 to remain in the green, trading 0.6 percent higher.
The S&P 500 fell 24.9 points, or 1.9 percent, to 1,317.93, with all 10 of the index’s industry groups posting declines, led by consumer discretionary, off 3.1 percent.
The S&P closed with a weekly loss of 3.1 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 55.97 points, or 2.3 percent, to close at 2,406.09, giving the technology-laden index a loss of 1.9 percent for the week.
On the New York Stock Exchange, volume topped 2 billion, and declining stocks outran those advancing 5 to 1. On the Nasdaq, nearly 1.3 billion shares traded, and declaimers topped advancers more than 2 to 1.
As stocks sank, bond prices climbed, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note, which moves in reverse of its price, falling to 4.16 percent.
MBA Enc. shares fell 13 percent after the bond insurer had its rating cut by Moody’s Investors Service.
The U.S. dollar declined against most currency rivals, while the price of gold climbed.
Washington Mutual said late Thursday that it’s going to cut 1,200 more jobs, mostly in California and Florida.
Merrill Lynch analysts cut their earnings estimates at Bank of America and National City, and JPMorgan analysts said reserve building is needed at all the banks that it follows.
