Global stocks close down, tumble as ECB discord stirs fears
US stocks tumbled more than 2 percent on Friday after the top German official at the European Central Bank resigned in protest of the bank's bond-buying program, which has been a major tool in fighting the region's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 303.68 points, or 2.69 percent, to 10,992.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 31.67 points, or 2.67 percent, to 1,154.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 61.15 points, or 2.42 percent, to 2,467.99.
European shares ended sharply lower on concerns US President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs package might face hurdles in Congress and as the resignation of a top European Central Bank official signalled a rift within the central bank.
The FTSEurofirst 300 of top European shares ended 2.6 percent lower at 915.52 points. It hit a two-year low last month and is down 18 percent this year. The Thomson Reuters Peripheral Eurozone Index fell 6.2 percent.
The Nikkei average slipped today, posting a weekly loss of 2.4 percent and moving back towards a six-month low hit earlier in the week, after President Barack Obama's US jobs package failed to provide new buying incentives.The benchmark Nikkei slipped 0.6 percent to 8,737.66 but was still well above Tuesday's 8,588, its lowest level since March 15 when stocks were sold off after the earthquake and tsunami.
The broader Topix index lost 0.2 percent to 755.70.
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