Global stocks tumbled again Friday, pushing retail shares down 1.2 percent as investors awaited some sign that would alleviate the debt and economic fears that have roiled markets this month.
The S&P Retail Index retreated 5.77 points to 466.22 — leaving the sector down 13.5 percent for the month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6 percent, or 172.93 points, to 10,817.65.
Among the decliners were Aéropostale Inc., down 14.3 percent to $10.71; Zale Corp., 12.1 percent to $3.65, and Francesca’s Holdings Corp., 11.6 percent to $19.99.
But Wall Street’s declines were generally milder than those seen in overseas markets.
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The DAX fell 2.2 percent in Frankfurt as the FTSE MIB declined 2 percent in Milan, the CAC 40 fell 1.9 percent in Paris and the FTSE 100 dipped 1 percent in London.
Luxury and retail stocks got caught in the sell-off. Ferragamo dropped 5.9 percent as Inditex slipped 3.7 percent, online retailer ASOS fell 3.3 percent and Benetton Group declined 2.5 percent.
Word started circulating late in the day that the European Commission was considering draft legislation on Euro bonds — debt that would be backed by all 17 Euro zone countries.
Such a move toward a more collective financial responsibility in Europe, which some experts claim could calm markets’ jitters over the sovereign debt crisis, was rejected by France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s Angela Merkel in a meeting earlier this week.
Asian stocks were also down with Hang Seng Index declining 3.1 percent in Hong Kong and the Nikkei 225 dropping 2.5 percent in Tokyo. Prada’s shares dropped 8.2 percent and Li & Fung decreased 4.7 percent.