US stocks finished with steep weekly losses amid worries about the fate of the troubled banking sector. Struggling automaker General Motors' warning of possible bankruptcy also pressurized stocks.

For the week, Dow was down 435.59 points or 6.17%. S&P fell 51.71 points or 7.03%, while Nasdaq Composite settled with a weekly loss of 83.99 points or 6.49%.

There was little relief on the front of economic data. A Labor Department release on Friday showed the economy shed 651,000 jobs in February, worse than the 650,000 job losses expected by economists. The unemployment rate shot up to 25 year high of 8.1% in February from 7.6% in January. A release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 31,000 to 639,000 in the week ending Feb. 28. ADP survey on Wednesday reported that a total of 697,000 private-sector jobs were lost in February, worse than the consensus estimate of 630,000. According Commerce Department, US factory orders declined 1.9% in January. Service sector continues to suffer. The Institute for Supply Management said on Wednesday that it's non-manufacturing index fell to 41.6% in February from 42.9% in previous month. The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday that pending home sales tumble 7.7 percent to 80.4, the lowest since the records began in 2001.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, a survey of regional economic conditions painted a bleak picture. "Looking ahead, contacts from the various districts rate the prospects for near-term improvement in economic conditions as poor, with a significant pickup not expected before late 2009 and early 2010," the report said.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) fell below $1 in intraday trade amid skepticism over US government's decision to bail out the flagging bank by boosting its stake to 36%.

Shares of General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) were battered after the embattled automaker on Thursday said its auditors have expressed "substantial doubt" about its ability to survive amid sinking sales. On Tuesday GM said that its US vehicle sales dropped 52.9% in February.

Banks continued to slash their dividends in anticipation of more loan losses in coming days. On Friday, Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) cut its quarterly dividend by 85% to 5 cents a share from 34 cents a share in order to save $5 billion annually. On Wednesday, the Minneapolis, Minnesota based U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) reduced its quarterly dividend to 5 cents per share from 42.5 cents per share.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) once again proved that its business is relatively recession proof. The retail giant reported a better than expected 5.1% increase in February sales.

Autozone (NYSE: AZO) too seems to be benefiting from bad economy. The auto-parts retailer reported that its second quarter net income climbed 9% to $115.9 million, or $2.03 a share, up from $106.7 million, or $1.67 a share in the prior year quarter.

On the other hand, Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Big Lots Inc (NYSE: BIG) reported a sharp drop in their quarterly profits while Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) and Chico's FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) posted quarterly loss.

Late on Wednesday, design software maker Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) warned that the first-quarter revenue won't meet Wall Street estimates. For the quarter ended February, the company expects to report revenue in the range of $783 million and $786 million, and earnings of 30 cents a share. Excluding special items, the San Jose, California based company said it expects earnings to be between 44 cents and 45 cents a share.

Looking ahead, the week will kick off with the release of wholesale inventories data for January on Tuesday. Wednesday will see the release of Treasury Budget.  Investors would be especially awaiting February's retail sales and weekly initial claims data, due for release on Thursday. Trade balance data for the month of January and March's Reuters/Michigan consumer sentiment index will be reported Friday.

Banking sector would remain in focus as the House Financial Services has scheduled a hearing on mark-to-market on Thursday.

On the earnings front, Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ: CASY), Kroger (NYSE: KR), Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV), J. Crew Group (NYSE: JCG), Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) and Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) are scheduled to report their quarterly results next week.   

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.