US stocks post heavy losses

US stock markets closed firmly in the red Friday, with the Dow posting six straight weeks of losses for the first time since 2002.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 172.45 points (1.42 percent) at 11,951.91 in closing trades.
The broader S&P 500 lost 18.02 points (1.40 percent) at 1,270.98, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gave up 41.14 points (1.53 percent) at 2,643.73.

All but three of the 30 Dow components were down, with Pfizer and Travelers down over three percent.
Caterpillar, Home Depot, Walt Disney and Boeing all lost over two percent.

There were few data releases on the calendar to give the market direction, but a sense of malaise prevailed.
"Uneasiness surrounding the global economic recovery remained omnipresent, exacerbated by a smaller-than-expected increase in China's trade surplus," said analysts at Charles Schwab.

Bond prices rose marginally. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down slightly at 2.99 percent from 3.00 percent on Thursday. That on the 30-year bond fell to 4.21 percent from 4.22 percent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.