NEW YORK — Stocks fell Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average posting its first down week in six, after an unexpected drop in the U.S. jobless rate proved a mere blip on the screen for investors focused on Europe.
“This week, equity trading reflects that investors are extremely confused, and they deserve to be. Until we get some clarity, the market is handicapped by it,” Michael Gibbs, managing director and director of equity strategy at Morgan Keegan, said Friday of the ongoing uncertainty over European Union efforts to get a handle on its sovereign debt. “Regardless of what happens, the EU bailout terms and austerity, etc., will be accepted, but the problem centers on how quickly this takes place.”
Last week, European leaders warned they would withhold aid to Greece until the country resolves its political differences, which could involve the opposition party forcing elections, a process that could take weeks.
The Labor Department on Friday reported the jobless rate unexpectedly fell in October, to a six-month low of 9 percent from 9.1 percent in September. The report had payrolls rising by 80,000 last month, a bit less than expected, but gains for August and September were revised higher.
“The jobs report if you net it out was a positive report, with the previous two months revised up dramatically, but everything is insignificant and is going to take a back seat until we get some clarity” from Europe, Gibbs said.
After falling as much as 194 points, the Dow ended down 61.23 points, or 0.5 percent, to 11,983.24. Bank of America shares fell 6.1 percent, leading declines that included all but five of the Dow’s 30 components.
For the week, the blue-chip index fell 2 percent, breaking a five-week string of gains.
Retreating back into negative turf for 2011, the S&P 500 declined 7.92 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,253.23. The S&P 500 lost 2.5 percent for the week, quitting four weeks of gains. It’s still up 17 percent from intraday lows reached Oct. 4.
The Nasdaq composite index lost 11.82 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,686.15.
