New York - Stocks fell in late trading on Wall Street Friday for the fourth day on a weaker dollar and concerns the US government's credit rating is in danger. Fears of downgraded government credit ratings in Britain also prompted warnings that the US could lose its AAA credit rating due to its involvement in rescuing the financial industry.
"Washington spending money is threatening the credit rating of the US government," Peter Boockvar of Miller Tabak & Co told Bloomberg financial news. "Everything is thrown out the window if we see a rise in interest rates."
But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs sought to calm fears telling reporters he does not think a credit rating cut is likely.
Still, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 14.81 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,277.32. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.33 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 887.00. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 3.24 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 1,692.01.
The US currency lost ground against the euro to 71.44 euro cents, its lowest level since January, from 71.91 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar gained against the Japanese currency to 94.78 yen from 94.24 yen.
