U.S. Stocks End April With a Whimper

U.S. stocks dropped last Friday to close out one of the worst performing weeks in recent memory as the new financial regulation and Goldman Sachs’ legal woes unnerved some investors. Shares of Goldman fell 9.4 percent on news that state prosecutors in New York are investigating the investment bank on possible criminal charges. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4 percent, or 158.7 points, while the S&P 500 Index dropped 20 points (1.7 percent). Technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 2.0 percent of value on Friday. Despite last week’s losses, April was a positive for the stock market. The Dow was up 1.4 percent for the month on strong first-quarter earnings from the corporate sector and encouraging macroeconomic news from federal data and home sales.