Signs of cooling US economic growth and fresh inflationary fears pushed major stock indices lower over the past week, with geopolitical tensions also weighing on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.53 percent for the week closing at 11,090.67 Friday, while the tech-laden Nasdaq composite declined by a larger 1.93 percent to 2,130.06.
The broad-market Standard and Poor's 500 meanwhile shed 0.37 percent on the week to 1,265.48.
Record oil prices, which pierced the 75-dollar barrier at one stage Friday before receding, also weighed on sentiment and helped stoke inflation concerns.
Wall Street struggled to move higher through the shortened US Independence Day holiday week as it moves into the second quarter earnings season next week.
The Dow is up 3.48 percent for 2006 while the S and P 500 is up 1.38 percent, but the Nasdaq is off 3.41 percent.
Gregory Drahuschak, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott, said the market has been in a choppy range in recent sessions, but that the focus may turn to the upcoming earnings season, which will give clues on whether corporate profits are holding up in a slowing economy.
Stocks closed out the week lower after a key US employment report Friday showed American employers created a modest 121,000 new jobs in June.
The report confirmed moderating economic conditions, already hinted at earlier in the week by other economic indicators, and contained hints of inflationary pressure.
A larger-than-expected spike in average hourly earnings, which rose 0.5 percent in June from May, was unlikely to put the Federal Reserve's inflation fears to rest, economists said.
"Although there was a lot of attention on today's employment report, the really important information for the market begins next week when the second quarter earnings report season starts," Drahuschak said.
"Earnings season is always important, but with worries about the state of earnings growth in the third and fourth quarters and concerns about what the Fed will do, the coming earnings report period is likely to be more influential than normal," he said.
Ongoing concerns about Iran's nuclear program and a series of missile tests by North Korea on Wednesday also rattled investors nerves.
Several western nations, including the US, are still trying to reach an accord with Iran to persuade it to stop uranium enrichment, while Washington was backing a potential UN resolution Friday seeking sanctions against Pyongyang.
Lynn Reaser, the chief US economist at Banc of America, said the coming week is "likely to show a moderate pace of economic activity."
"In the week's most important report, look for June's retail sales to run somewhat faster than in May, with recovering auto sales leading the way," Reaser said.
Fresh updates on consumer credit, business inventories, the US trade deficit and a first University of Michigan reading on consumer confidence in July are also due out in the coming week.
Aside from the past week's job report, the Institute for Supply Management's snapshot on June manufacturing fed opinions that the economy is moderating as it reported a drop in its index for June to 53.8 percent from 54.4 percent in May.
Stocks also slumped Friday on weaker outlooks from industrial giant 3M and semiconductor group Advanced Micro Devices.
Both companies warned their second quarter sales are likely to be lower than previously forecast.
The bond market gained marginally. Yields on the 10-year Treasury bond fell to 5.132 percent from 5.138 percent a week earlier while the 30-year bond yield declined to 5.174 percent from 5.186 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.