Growth Fears Weigh on Stocks

By PETER A. MCKAY.
Stocks slipped, hurt by worries about the global economic recovery as China moved to tighten interest rates and data on Europe's economic growth missed expectations.



The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which posted a 160-point decline at its morning low, ended down 45.05 points, or 0.4%, at 10099.14, led by a 2.2% decline in Alcoa, which was hurt by a retreat in metals prices. Intel was the Dow's biggest gainer, up 1.8%.


Some technology bellwethers posted big gains. Motorola rose 7.5% after announcing plans to split into two companies. And a U.S. retail-sales report was surprisingly strong.



Those developments helped to limit the declines in major indexes, but, ultimately, the concerns about global growth that dominated the week's trading rose to the fore.



Friday's stock decline capped a week marked by volatile moves and a series of announcements affecting every major economy in the world. The big swings and headlines left the market with a modest gain for the week.



Commodities also declined, reacting to China's moves to rein in lending. Crude-oil prices slid, while gold declined.



"I think the reaction here is about right. What we're seeing is that the risks have shifted, but I don't think the level of risk for investors has changed," said Standard & Poor's economist David Wyss in New York. "Our domestic economy is doing a little better than we thought it would; the international economy a little weaker."



The Dow's loss on Friday left it with a gain of 0.9% for the week, thanks mostly to a big advance on Thursday after the European Union made a general statement in support of heavily indebted Greece.



Some participants looked ahead Friday to possible details that may emerge from two days of meetings by European Union finance ministers slated to begin on Monday, when U.S. markets will be closed for Presidents Day.



"I don't think anyone wants to go too long ahead of some of the events that are still waiting out there, especially over the long weekend," said David Bellantonio, head trader at Instinet, a New York brokerage.



The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.3% on Friday to 2183.53, up 2% for the week. The S&P 500-stock index slipped 0.3% on Friday to 1075.51, up 0.9% on the week.



Treasurys climbed, with the 10-year note up 12/32 point to yield 3.691%.



Write to Peter A. McKay at peter.mckay@wsj.com