US stocks tumbled on Friday as investors remained worried about President Barack Obama's bank plan. Uncertainty about the confirmation of Ben Bernanke for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman also added to the gloom.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 216.90 points or 2.09% to finish at 10,389.88. The S&P 500 slumped 24.72 points or 2.21% to close at 1,091.76. The Nasdaq Composite plummeted 60.41 points or 2.67% to 2,205.29.
US President Barack Obama on Thursday proposed sweeping new rules aimed at separating riskier proprietary trading from commercial banking. The President said banks would be prohibited from what he called "proprietary trading operations, unrelated to serving customers."
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke's prospects for a second term became cloudier Friday after two Senate Democrats said that they would oppose him.
Technology shares were battered. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:
INTC) plummeted 93 cents or 4.46% to $19.91. Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:
CSCO) plunged $1.01 or 4.21% to $22.97. Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:
HPQ) lost $2 or 3.90% to $49.29. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:
MSFT) slid $1.05 or 3.50% to $28.96.
Among financials, JP Morgan & Chase & Co. (NYSE:
JPM) declined $1.38 or 3.40% to $39.16. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:
BAC) plummeted 57 cents or 3.68% to $14.90.
Shares of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:
AA), the largest US aluminum maker, slumped 85 cents or 5.96% to $13.40.
Shares of equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT) tumbled $2.60 or 4.57% to $54.25.
Among energy stocks, Chevron Corp. (NYSE:
CVX) dropped $1.65 or 2.16% to $74.59.
Early on Friday, Dow component McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:
MCD) said Friday that its fourth-quarter net income rose to $1.22 billion, or $1.11 a share, from $985.3 million, or 87 cents a share, in same period last year.