Investing.com - U.S. stock prices fell on Thursday as investors sold and jumped to the sidelines ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on Friday at the Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Talk that Spain is putting on hold plans to seek sovereign bailout assistance sent prices falling as well.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.81%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.78% while the Nasdaq Composite index was down 1.05%.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is said to be ready to ask for bailout assistance though reports emerged that he will delay the request until lending and policy conditions clear up.
A court in Germany is mulling whether the country's participation in bailout packages breaks the law while the continent is waiting to see whether the European Central Bank will roll out a bond-buying plan to lower borrowing costs in countries such as Spain and Italy.
Terms surrounding the rescue package as well needed attention.
Meanwhile, the Spanish government of Valencia signaled it may need financial assistance from Madrid, which will need addressing before the country's seeks aid of its own.
Also on Thursday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned that the eurozone crisis was getting worse though he said China would to continue to buy eurozone government bonds after fully evaluating all risks.
Elsewhere in the U.S., the markets were waiting for Bernanke to deliver a speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole symposium, where he has telegraphed monetary policy moves in the past.
Stocks traded lower on Friday, however, on the notion that the Fed might not hint at plans to roll out a new round of quantitative easing, at least not this week.
Stocks also fell on soft U.S. jobless data.
The Labor Department earlier reported that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week held steady at 374,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 4,000.
A separate report showed that personal income in the U.S. rose by 0.3% in July, which matched forecasts, after rising by a revised 0.3% in June.
Personal spending rose 0.4%, in line with expectations after a flat reading in June.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Merck, up 0.19%, Procter & Gamble, up 0.03%, and Johnson & Johnson, down 0.21%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Caterpillar, down 1.85%, Intel, down 1.58%, and Cisco Systems, down 1.51%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.25%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.02%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 1.64%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 fell 0.42%.
Talk that Spain is putting on hold plans to seek sovereign bailout assistance sent prices falling as well.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.81%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.78% while the Nasdaq Composite index was down 1.05%.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is said to be ready to ask for bailout assistance though reports emerged that he will delay the request until lending and policy conditions clear up.
A court in Germany is mulling whether the country's participation in bailout packages breaks the law while the continent is waiting to see whether the European Central Bank will roll out a bond-buying plan to lower borrowing costs in countries such as Spain and Italy.
Terms surrounding the rescue package as well needed attention.
Meanwhile, the Spanish government of Valencia signaled it may need financial assistance from Madrid, which will need addressing before the country's seeks aid of its own.
Also on Thursday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned that the eurozone crisis was getting worse though he said China would to continue to buy eurozone government bonds after fully evaluating all risks.
Elsewhere in the U.S., the markets were waiting for Bernanke to deliver a speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole symposium, where he has telegraphed monetary policy moves in the past.
Stocks traded lower on Friday, however, on the notion that the Fed might not hint at plans to roll out a new round of quantitative easing, at least not this week.
Stocks also fell on soft U.S. jobless data.
The Labor Department earlier reported that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week held steady at 374,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 4,000.
A separate report showed that personal income in the U.S. rose by 0.3% in July, which matched forecasts, after rising by a revised 0.3% in June.
Personal spending rose 0.4%, in line with expectations after a flat reading in June.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Merck, up 0.19%, Procter & Gamble, up 0.03%, and Johnson & Johnson, down 0.21%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Caterpillar, down 1.85%, Intel, down 1.58%, and Cisco Systems, down 1.51%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.25%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.02%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 1.64%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 fell 0.42%.