U.S. STOCK MARKETS

A rebound by banks and health-care shares helped push blue chips higher, although not enough to help them avoid a losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67.21 points, or 0.5%, to 12640.78, Friday.

The benchmark trimmed a weekly decline caused by Thursday's sharp selloff, which was fueled by a cascade of bearish global data. J.P. Morgan Chase, up 1.4%, was among the Dow's biggest advancers. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo also gained, up 1.5%, 1.3% and 1.5%, respectively.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index tacked on 9.51 points, or 0.7%, to 1335.02. All 10 of the index's sectors traded higher, though consumer staples and utilities lagged behind.

The Nasdaq Composite added 33.33 points, or 1.2%, to 2892.42. Late Thursday, Moody's Investors Service downgraded numerous global banks, citing significant exposure to volatility and the risk of large losses from capital markets activities.

But analysts largely took a positive view, saying the decisions were on the whole slightly less negative than many investors had feared. Only one company, Credit Suisse Group, had its rating cut by three notches.

Two others, Morgan Stanley and UBS, had faced three-notch reductions but were downgraded only two levels. The U.S.-listed shares of Credit Suisse rose 1.2%, and UBS's added 2.1%. In corporate news, Ryder System slid 13%, the biggest decline among the S&P 500 components.

The truck-rental company lowered its second-quarter and full-year earnings outlooks, citing lower-than-expected demand. Facebook rose 3.8%, extending its more-than-20% rally from its early June lows.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS

European markets closed the week with a gain despite moving lower Friday, as investors shrugged off a fresh round of bank downgrades from Moody's Investors Service.

The Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.7% to 246.58 Friday but closed out the week with a 1% gain. The FTSE 100 index lost 1% to 5513.69, but was up 0.6% on a weekly basis. France's CAC-40 closed 0.7% lower at 3090.90, but was up 0.1% for the week.

The DAX 30 index dropped 1.3% to 6263.25, but rose 0.5% on a weekly basis. One of the mitigating factors in Europe was a less dramatic result than expected from an independent audit of Spain's struggling banking sector, said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets.

The auditors revealed late Thursday that the banks' recapitalization needs could reach 62 billion euros ($78 billion) in an adverse scenario, well below the EUR100 billion the Spanish government pegged in early June as the maximum request.

Pressure on Spanish bonds eased, with the yield on 10-year government bonds at 6.31%, the lowest level since early the previous week, according to Tradeweb.

The Spanish IBEX-35 index outperformed other European bourses, jumping 1.5% Friday to 6876.30. The index was 2.3% higher for the week. Bankia jumped 5.2%, Banco de Sabadell surged 8.5%, and Banco Popular Espanol soared 10.5%.

For the broader European markets, stocks started to trim losses in afternoon trade as the European Central Bank said it had eased the rules for eligible collateral to improve the access of the banking sector.

Separately, the International Monetary Fund late Thursday urged the ECB to use inventive monetary policy to fight the region's sovereign-debt crisis.

The banking sector was also slightly higher elsewhere, shaking off credit-rating downgrades on 15 major financial firms from Moody's.

Among major banks that were downgraded, Credit Agricole ticked up 0.4% and BNP Paribas added 0.7%. Oil producers added to the pressure in the market after Brent futures Thursday recorded their lowest settlement price since December 2010 and WTI crude notched its lowest settlement since October 2011.

In the U.K., BP fell 1.2%, and BG Group slumped 2.4%. In France, heavyweight oil group Total slipped 1.2%. Mining companies, too, moved lower, with BHP Billiton down 2.7% and Anglo American off 1.7%.

German stocks were weighed down by sluggish economic data. The closely watched Ifo index of business confidence hit a two-year low in June, suggesting that Europe's economic engine, Germany, is no longer immune to the troubles in the rest of the euro zone. BASF fell 4%, and drug maker Bayer lost 2.5%.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Asian markets skidded Friday as signs of a slowing world economy and a ratings downgrade of several major banks pushed investors away from risk assets before the weekend.

Resource sector stocks in particular tumbled after fall in crude oil prices and gold futures, with banks and other financial stocks also taking big losses.

South Korea's Kospi was the region's worst performer of the day, dropping 2.2% as wary investors sold stocks across sectors. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.3%, Taiwan's Taiex gave up 0.8%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 1.4%. Mainland Chinese markets were closed for a holiday.

The performance ended a mixed week for the regional indexes: Japan's Nikkei rose 2.7%, while the Hang Seng Index dropped 1.2%. The Shanghai Composite had ended Thursday's session with a weekly loss of 2%. Financials were weaker across Asia. In Hong Kong, HSBC Holdings PLC, one of the banks downgraded by Moody's, dropped 1.2%. Among other banks, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. shed 1.3% in Hong Kong, KB Financial Group Inc. fell 3.7% in Seoul and Chinatrust Financial Holding Co. declined 2% in Taipei. Resource firms were pressured throughout the region. In the energy sector, Tokyo-listed Inpex Corp. fell 2.5% and Cnooc Ltd. dropped 4% in Hong Kong. Zhaojin Mining Industry Co. skidded 3.1% in Hong Kong after the drop in gold prices.

Base metals closed mostly lower on the London Metal Exchange Friday, although early losses were pared reflecting a slightly steadier tone in the wider financial markets.

At the close, LME three-month copper was 0.4% lower at $7,309 a metric ton. The red metal earlier hit a six-month low at $7,219.50/ton.

Nickel held up the best of the complex Friday, closing 0.7% higher on the day at $16,575/ton. U.S. crude oil futures prices closed out the week with a 2% gain in Friday's trading after tumbling 7% over the previous four sessions. Market participants attributed the advance to trading dynamics rather than supply and demand concerns or news about the global economy.

West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude pierced the $80 a barrel level early in the session, before settling $1.56 higher at $79.76 a barrel for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange. U.S. futures still were down 5.4% for the week and off nearly 25% since May 1.

Brent crude, the European benchmark, settled $1.75, or 2% higher, at $90.98 a barrel for August delivery on the IntercontinentalExchange.

Silver hit a 19-month low, suffering from sagging demand as both an industrial and investment metal. The most-actively traded silver contract, for July delivery, fell 17.8 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $26.661 per troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was its lowest settlement price since November 2010. The most-actively traded gold contract, for August delivery, gained 0.1%, or $1.40, to settle at $1,566.90 per troy ounce. Compiled from: Morrison Securities Pty. Ltd.