Stocks closed near session-lows Friday with the Dow falling below the 12,000-mark to finish lower for the sixth-consecutive week amid further signs of a global economic slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 172.45 points, or 1.42 percent, to end at 11,951.91—below the 12,000-mark, the first time since Mar. 18, 2011. This week marks the Dow's worst losing streak since 2002.
The S&P 500 slid 18.02 points, or 1.40 percent, to finish at 1,270.98—breaking the 1,275 support level.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 41.14 points, or 1.53 percent, to close at 2,643.73. The Nasdaq is now in the negative territory for the year.
The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, gained 6.13 percent to close at 18.86.
For the week, the Dow declined 1.64 percent, the S&P shed 2.24 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 3.26 percent. All 10 of the key S&P sectors slipped for the week, led by techs, consumer discretionary and energy.
Cisco was the biggest laggard on the blue-chip index this week, down 5.56 percent, while 3M has the most positive impact, gaining 0.03 percent.
June is now on track to be the worst month for major averages since May 2010.
The dollar extended gains against the euro, which came under pressure as concerns over euro zone debt came back to the spotlight, while gold slid to settle at $1,528.60 an ounce.
“We’re in for a correction,” said Kenny Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities.
Polcari said the S&P will continue to trade between 1,250 and 1,325—the 200-day and 50-day moving averages. The next big catalyst for markets is the earnings reports, he explained, which will kick off in another four weeks.
Meanwhile, Rob Stein, portfolio manager and senior economist of Astor Asset Management, said while there may be further market declines, this is still not the beginning of a bear market or another recession.
“Markets being down for six weeks is an anomaly, but I don’t think it takes away from the fact that GDP’s growing—it’s still positive,” Stein noted. “We’re revering to the mean and markets are trying to find an equilibrium…we are still up year-over-year.”
Financials made a late-session comeback after news that extra capital charge on the biggest banks is likely to be at 2 to 2.5 percent, instead of the widely-reported 3 percent, CNBC learned. JPMorgan , BofA and Citigroup rebounded. Regulators will be meeting formally in two weeks to discuss the charge.
"[The news] moved the banks...it moved the tape," commented a trader.
The report comes after JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon confronted Fed chairman Ben Bernankeearlier this week over the numerous new banking regulations, including a new surcharge for the biggest banks.