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STEPHEN BERNARD AND IEVA M. AUGSTUMS
Stocks tumbled for a second day Friday after concerns grew that the deep spending cuts under Europe's bailout plan would slow a global recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 163 points but closed well off its lows of the day. The Dow and other indexes posted big gains for the week after rocketing higher Monday on hopes that Europe's emergency loan package would prevent a debt crisis in Greece from spreading. Enthusiasm about the plan wore off as the week went on.
The drop in U.S. markets Friday followed a slide of more than 3 percent in European indexes. The euro dropped to a 19-month low against the dollar and is close to its lowest level in four years as confidence in Europe's ability to contain its fiscal problems wanes.
Investors seeking safety piled into Treasurys and the dollar. Gold settled lower after hitting another record. Crude oil sank nearly 4 percent, and an indicator of stock market volatility jumped.
Currency traders have been moving out of the euro throughout the week because of concerns that cost-cutting measures in countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal would slow economic activity on the continent and elsewhere. Now stock investors are also looking at those same problems.
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