Stocks fall as recession fears rise

NEW YORK – A growing belief that the U.S. economy may be headed toward recession gave the stock market its fourth straight week of losses.

The anxiety in the market was obvious Friday as the major indexes went from moderate gains early in the day to another sharp loss. The Dow Jones industrial average had its 10th move of more than 100 points in 15 trading days this month.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. joined other financial firms and cut its forecast for economic growth during the fourth quarter. It’s now predicting growth at an annual rate of just 1 percent, down from an earlier forecast of 2.5 percent. That added to the recession fears.

After the market rose early, some investors sold in case bad news comes out of Europe over the weekend. The Dow lost 172.93, or 1.6 percent, and closed at 10,817.65. It was down 4 percent for the week. Since July 21 – four weeks and one day – the Dow is down 15 percent.

Companies that rely on an expanding economy for higher revenue fell. Caterpillar Inc., International Business Machines and Alcoa Inc. each fell more than 2 percent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index fell 17.12, or 1.5 percent, to 1,123.53. It was down 4.7 percent for the week. All 10 industry groups that make up the index fell.

The Nasdaq composite fell 38.59, or 1.6 percent, to 2,341.84. It was down 6.6 percent for the week.

Next week is likely to bring more volatility. On Friday, the government will give its second estimate of how the economy did during the second quarter. It said a month ago that the GDP grew at an annual rate of just 1.3 percent during the quarter. Economists expect the government to announce a lower reading: 1.1 percent. The GDP report July 29 contributed to the market’s heavy losses. So did the government’s revised estimate for the first quarter: 0.4 percent.