U.S. stocks suffer biggest weekly loss in four months

U.S. stocks suffer biggest weekly loss in four months

 NEW YORK, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks settled narrowly mixed on Friday, ending the worst week in four month, amid concerns over sluggish¹ economy and weak earnings² season.

When the market closed on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 2.46 points, or 0.02 percent, to 13,328.85, just avoiding its first five-day losing streak³ in three months.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.25 points, or 0.30 percent, to 1,428.59.

The Nasdaq Composite Index suffered its sixth straight loss, the longest losing streak of the year, to settle at 3,044.11, dipping 5.30 points, or 0.17 percent from the previous session.

For the week, the Dow slumped⁴ 2.7 percent, the S&P dropped 2.21 percent, and the Nasdaq tumbled 2.94 percent.

Friday's session started with a gain, boosted by better-than- expected financial results from two major U.S. banks and surprisingly high consumer sentiment index.

JP Morgan Chase & Co., the U.S. biggest bank by assets, reported a record profit for the third quarter on Friday, as mortgage refinancing surged and commercial lending expanded.

Wells Fargo, the nation's biggest mortgage lender, also said its net income reached a record 4.94 billion dollars, surging 22 percent from a year earlier, as the low interest rate level boosted refinancing business.

More surprisingly, the Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for October rose to the highest level in over five years, showing Americans were more optimistic about the broad economy.

However, these numbers failed to help stocks hold their gains to the end. Major indexes erased⁵ gains in afternoon trading as there is still a lot of trepidation⁶ about the earnings season, which was expected to be the weakest since the financial crisis.

According to Thomson Reuters data, S&P 500 companies' quarterly earnings are expected to fall 3 percent from a year ago, marking the first decline in three years.

In the coming week, besides more earnings to watch, investors⁷ will also focus on Europe when the leaders meet in Brussels. Many investors were betting Spain will soon request an international bailout although Spanish government had been saying that the nation did not need assistance.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut Spain's long-term sovereign credit rating by two notches⁸ to one level above junk earlier in the week, only adding to speculations⁹ that Spain would have to ask for help under mounting pressures.

In other markets, the dollar was under pressure on anticipation¹⁰ for a possible Spain bailout and fell for the third straight day against the euro.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery dropped 21 cents, or 0. 23 percent to settle at 91.86 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, it rose 1.98 dollars, or 2.20 percent amid tensions in the Middle East region.

1 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

4 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

5 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 trepidation   

n.惊恐，惶恐

参考例句：

• The men set off in fear and trepidation.这群人惊慌失措地出发了。
• The threat of an epidemic caused great alarm and trepidation.流行病猖獗因而人心惶惶。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 notches   

n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级

参考例句：

• The Indians cut notches on a stick to keep count of numbers. 印第安人在棒上刻V形凹痕用来计数。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They cut notches in the handle of their pistol for each man they shot. 他们每杀一个人就在枪托上刻下一个V形记号。 来自辞典例句

9 speculations   

n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断

参考例句：

• Your speculations were all quite close to the truth. 你的揣测都很接近于事实。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. 这种可能性引起了有趣的推测。 来自《用法词典》

10 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。