(Corrects 2nd bullet point and paragraph 14 to show euro broke its five-day winning streak on Thursday, not Friday)
* Goldman stock plunges nearly 13 percent on SEC charges
* Euro falls for second day on renewed Greek fears
* US Treasuries rally with 10-year note at 3.77 percent (Updates with U.S. market close; quotes on Goldman Sachs)
By Jennifer Ablan
NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - World stock markets dropped
on Friday after U.S. regulators charged Goldman Sachs Group
Inc.
Investors moved money into safe-haven U.S. government debt, pushing prices higher and yields lower.
World equities moved in sympathy with U.S. stocks, which were under severe selling pressure as financial issues plunged on the charges against Goldman Sachs and some disappointing earnings. The decline was the market's biggest in nearly two months, taking the shine off a six-day winning streak.
Goldman
"It's going to take a while for the markets to digest this as investors weed out what it could mean for Goldman and if other banks could be hit with something similar," said Tom Lydon, president of Global Investment Trends in Newport Beach, California.
Defaults on subprime mortgages and the unraveling of related derivatives and debt played a major role in the credit crunch that led to a meltdown on Wall Street and the worst U.S. recession since the 1930s.
At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 125.91 points, or 1.13 percent, at 11,018.66, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was off 19.54 points, or 1.61 percent, at 1,192.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 34.43 points, or 1.37 percent, at 2,481.26.
The MSCI's global equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> settled down 1.57 percent, though still set for its seventh straight weekly gain. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> also was down 1.52 percent.
Overall, global shares edged off 16-month highs as persistent uncertainty over Greece's ability to pay its debts tempered optimism over the global economic recovery.
In currencies, the dollar was up against a basket of major trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.37 percent at 80.778 from a previous session close of 80.482.
The euro remained pressured and Greek bond yields rose after Athens said it was preparing to activate an IMF/EU financial aid package. [ID:nLDE63F0SX].
The euro
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar
GREECE MOVES
The euro slid for the second day due to renewed worries over Greece's ability to service its sovereign debt. On Thursday, the euro snapped a five-day winning streak as investors' concerns escalated about Greece's debt problems.
Greece lurched closer toward asking for international aid after it requested official talks with European authorities and the International Monetary Fund.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet told euro zone finance ministers that the situation for Greek banks remains difficult and could deteriorate further. [ID:nLDE63F0KR]
The cost of insuring Greek sovereign debt rose about 10
basis points from Thursday's close to 428.5 bps, according to
CMA DataVision. Greek 10-year bond yields
U.S. Treasury debt, investors' favorite safe haven, rose.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note
In energy and commodities trading, U.S. light sweet crude
oil