Stocks fell in very light pre-holiday trade on Friday, with investors spooked by news of a downward revision of economic growth and Alan Greenspan's warning that the weakness could persist.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 30.96 points, or 1.36 per cent, to 2,251.06. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 gave up 15.27 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 1,277.90. For the week, the Dow fell 2.6 per cent and the Nasdaq rose 2.5 per cent.
The US government said GDP grew at 1.3 per cent in the first three months of 2001, down from an initial reading of a surprisingly strong 2 per cent growth reported a few weeks ago. Economists on average were expecting 1.5 per cent growth.
Wall Street was also unnerved by figures that showed a drop in existing home sales and orders for big-ticket items last month, as well as a warning from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan late on Thursday that weak growth may linger.
