国际英语新闻：U.S. stocks register weekly gains despite Friday's plunge

NEW YORK, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street slumped on Friday even after upbeat economic data provided a brighter recovery picture in the United States, as investors worried more budget-cutting measures may cause an economic slowdown in Europe.

As market closed, the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 162. 79, or 1.51 percent, to 10,620.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 21.75, or 1.88 percent, to 1,135.68 and the Nasdaq plummeted 47.51, or 1.98 percent, to 2,346.85.

Despite that, major indexes still registered weekly gains due to big rallies on Monday and Wednesday. Both the Dow and S&P gained more than 2 percent for the week, while the technology- heavy Nasdaq rose more than 3.5 percent.

Friday's plunge came mainly because investors worried new austerity measures in Greece, Spain and Portugal will slow the economic recovery in Europe, driving investors from equities to safe-haven assets such as gold and U.S. treasuries. Gold hit record highs near 1250 dollars an ounce on Friday as the euro was trading near its 19-month low against the U.S. dollar.

Such fears intensified in the market after Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve Chairman, said he's concerned that the euro area may break up after the Greek fiscal crisis that sparked an uNPRecedented bailout by the region's members.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, known as the VIX, rose 4.77 points to 31.45.