国际英语新闻：U.S. stocks erase week's gain on disappointing consumer data, revenue

Google also disappointed investors as the searching giant reported earnings after the market closed on Thursday, which turned out to be lower than market anticipation, even though its net income and revenue climbed sharply.

However, Goldman Sachs was among the few winners in financial sector, a day after it reached a 550-million-dollar settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Although the penalty is the largest ever levied by the SEC against any financial institutions, some analysts still regarded the settlement as a big win for Goldman Sachs.

Apple Inc. took the spotlight as its CEO Steve Jobs apologized to consumers in a news conference after complaints of an antenna problem on Apple's new iPhone 4, but saying the same problems affected all smart phones and had been widely exaggerated by the media.

In order to partially solve the problem, Apple announced that it will send free bumpers or cases to current owners and consumers who buy the phone through Sept. 30.

The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 261.40 points, or 2. 52 percent, to 10,097.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 index tumbled 31.60 points, or 2.88 percent, to 1,064.88 and the Nasdaq was down 70.03 points, or 3.11 percent, to 2,179.05.