Markets: Facebook fails to shake nightmare week

Stocks on Wall Street fell with the glamour listing of Facebook struggling after its initial splash.

The $US38 shares opened 11% higher around $US42 but soon struggled to stay above the offering price and ended the day up just 23USc.

More than 30 banks were involved in the offering, which sold at least 421 million shares to investors.

The lackluster debut coincided with the worst weeks for stocks worldwide this year, fuelled by the continuing eurozone crisis and slowing growth in China.

Blue chips extended a streak of declines that haven't been seen in almost 40 years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its 12th loss in 13 sessions, the worst 13-session performance since October 1974. The index lost 73.11 points, or 0.6%, to 12369.38.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.7%, to 1295.22 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.2%, to 2778.79. All three benchmarks capped their biggest weekly percentage declines of the year.

Other markets: Europe, Asia fall the most this year
European stocks ended their worst week in almost eight months.

While the battered Spanish and Greek benchmarks ended the day with gains, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.1% to 238.88, its lowest close since December 21. It skidded 5.2% over five straight losses, the biggest weekly decline since September 23, and is now down 2.3% so far this year.

The UK’s FTSE 100 index dropped 1.3% at 5267.62, its lowest close since November 25 and part of a 5.5% slide over the week.

The French CAC 40 index slipped 0.1% to 3008.00, its lowest close since December 19. The German DAX 30 index fell 0.6% to 6271.22, its lowest close since January 16.

Spain's IBEX 35 index edged up 0.4% to 6566.70, while Italy's FTSE MIB index pulled back from earlier gains to end 0.3% lower at 13048.90.

Asian markets fell heavily, with Japan, Australia and Hong Kong all hitting four-month lows.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 sank 2.7% to 4046.50, eliminating all the gains made in 2012. It was the Australian index’s worst week since September 2011, dropping 5.6% over the five sessions.

Korea's Kospi also hit a year-to-date low, down 3.4% to 1782.46. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 1.3% lower at 18951.85, finishing the week down 5.1%.

Japan's Nikkei Average dropped 3% to 8611.31, its lowest level in four months.

Commodities: Oil continues slide
Oil futures slid for the sixth session in a row, settling at their lowest level in nearly seven months.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled down $US1.08, or 1.2%, at $US91.48 a barrel in New York, the lowest price since October 26.

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange ended down 35USc, or 0.3%, at $US107.14 a barrel.

Currencies: US dollar ends rally
The US dollar edged lower against most major currencies, pulling back a bit after its longest rally since at least 1985.

The euro was at $US1.2698 late on Thursday. The dollar was at ¥79.13 compared with ¥79.28, while the euro was at ¥100.74 from ¥100.66.

The pound fetched $US1.5795 from $US1.5798, while the dollar bought 0.9435 Swiss franc from 0.9458 franc.