US stocks slumped on Friday after remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan pushed housing shares lower and a report showing a surprising drop in US consumer sentiment pushed down retailers. His remarks knocked the Dow Jones US home-builders index down 1.4 percent to 941.48, just above a two-month low of 936.27 hit earlier in the session.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 45 points, or 0.43 percent, at 10,405.89, after earlier falling to a seven-week low at 10,383.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 5.75 points, or 0.47 percent, at 1,206.62. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 11.10 points, or 0.52 percent, at 2,123.27.