DOW JONES

Stock markets in Asia declined for the third day Wednesday uncertainty over Greece's debt deal and concerns over a slowdown in global economic growth dampened sentiment.

Precious metals and the broader market plunged on Tuesday, with gold diving to its lowest point in six weeks, driven down by concerns about the global economy.

U.S. stocks finished Tuesday with the worst one-day decline so far in 2012 as a sell-off spread from Europe driven by fear of a disorderly default in Greece and a slowdown in global economic growth.

Wall Street was set to open lower on Tuesday on renewed concerns that Greece and private bondholders may not meet a looming deadline to complete a debt swap and as caution grew over the global economic outlook after recent weak data.

U.S. equities sank, mirroring falls across Asia and Europe Monday after China cut its growth target. Worries over whether Greece can entice enough private investors to participate in a bond swap deal also dampened investors' sentiment.

A significant but largely unnoticed shift is underway in how big U.S. companies account for pensions on their books. The move to mark-to-market accounting could signal that corporate America is betting on rock-bottom interest rates and continued economic recovery through 2012 and into next year.

China lowered its economic growth target to an eight-year-low of 7.5 percent from an 8 percent goal in place since 2005, a signal that the country's leaders are determined to scale back the reliance on external demand and foreign capital, in favor of domestic consumption.

Stocks have proven the naysayers wrong so far in 2012. And the February employment situation summary on Friday could be just the ticket to keep the bulls going next week. Besides the jobs report on Friday, next week brings an ADP private-sector employment report on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched their eighth week of gains in the last nine, but momentum ran out on Friday as shares ended the day lower after a thinly traded session.

Stocks ticked lower in early trading on Friday in a light day on the economic calendar, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were on track to close their eighth positive week in the last nine.

Futures on the S&P 500 edged lower in light volume Friday but were still on track to close their ninth straight week of gains, the longest such run since January 2004. Investors will focus on oil prices as U.S. crude hovers near $107 a barrel a day after hitting a 10-month high above $110 on supply concerns in the Middle East.

Producer prices in the euro zone rose by a greater-than-expected 0.7 percent in January, a result that could add to concerns that overall inflation won’t drop rapidly to the European Central Bank's target, giving the ECB less leeway to intervene to boost the region's economy.

Bloc leaders on Friday signed a new pact to allow for faster transfer of capital to the EU's planned permanent €500 billion ($660 billion) bailout fund and to set strict rules on member states' debt.

Janus Capital Group cut the pay of its chief executive sharply last year and put new compensation guidelines in place after it lost a shareholder "Say on Pay" vote, the Denver asset manager said in a proxy filing on Thursday.

U.S. stocks advanced Thursday buoyed by a strong weekly jobless claims numbers and solid monthly sales from retailers. Meanwhile, European markets were lifted by a well-received Spanish auction and news that Greece is one step closer to winning a €130 billion ($173.15 billion) bailout.

Chevron executives met this week with Russian government representatives about possible oil exploration by the U.S. company in Russia's Arctic.

Business at U.S. manufacturers expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in February, according to a closely watched survey of the sector released Thursday.

China is cutting the share of its reserves denominated in U.S. dollars and may be buying far more European government debt than in the past, according to data compiled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Euro zone unemployment rose to 10.7 percent in January from a revised 10.6 percent in December, while the annual inflation rate edged up to 2.7 in February from 2.6 percent in January, the European Union's official statistics agency, Eurostat, reported Thursday.

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a higher opening Thursday ahead of a wave of economic data including ISM manufacturing index and key weekly jobless claims.

The Nasdaq composite index crossed 3000 for the first time in more than a decade but finished in red following the testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke which checked market expectations of more monetary easing.