US stocks fell in volatile trading on Friday as financial shares slid after Britain's Lloyds Banking Group posted a wider-than-expected loss, adding to persistent worries about the health of the banking sector. Shares of Bank of America fell 3.2 percent to $5.68 on the New York Stock Exchange, while J.P. Morgan shed 5 percent to $24.88.
The KBW Bank index fell 4.5 percent, taking its weekly decline so far to more than 13 percent. Financials fell after Lloyds Banking Group said its HBOS unit made a pretax loss of 8.5 billion pounds ($12.3 billion) for 2008, driven by 7 billion pounds in bad corporate loans, raising fears that the already partly nationalised bank will need further state help.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 70.09 points, or 0.88 percent, to 7,862.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 6.95 points, or 0.83 percent, to 828.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 6.36 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,535.35.
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