Stocks, Spain | featured news

Weak earnings from several large companies and a credit rating downgrade of several regions in Spain raised concerns about a slowing global economy... The Dow Jones industrial average finished the day down 1.8 percent, or 243.36 points, to end at 13,102.53, its worst performance since June. The losses added to the big declines on Friday, and dropped leading indexes to their lowest levels since early September, before the Federal Reserve announced its latest monetary stimulus program.

Stocks closed out its best week of the year Friday, as investors played things close to the vest before the weekend when Spain is expected to request aid for its troubled banks.

Stocks fell and the spread between Spanish and German bonds hit a record wide, as the prospect of fresh elections heightened concerns about the likelihood of Greece exiting the euro zone.

News that Spain’s economy entered another recession renewed worries about the fragility of Europe’s finances on Monday and nudged stocks lower. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 35 points to 13,192 shortly after noon Eastern.

Asian stocks slumped Friday after a spike in Spanish government borrowing costs added to the uncertainty over Europe's debt crisis and investors braced themselves for China.

Several European countries that banned short-selling have extended the prohibition until the end of September. When concerns about European banks’ exposure to Greek debt sent their stocks plummeting two weeks ago, market regulators in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy and Spain stepped in to prohibit traders from betting on the decline in a share’s price.

Fitch cut Spain’s credit rating, saying that the country’s debt will probably weigh on the country’s growth.