Stocks fell Friday, as investors fretted troubles in Spain, where banks are under severe financial strain and government bond yields shot higher. Also, Standard & Poor’s on Friday cut its credit-worthiness ratings on five Spanish banks and revised its assessment of the country’s economic risk, saying it believes Spain was headed to a double-dip recession. U.S. consumer confidence climbed to 79.3 in May from 76.4 in April as prices at the gasoline pumps took less of a toll on American wallets. Tech stocks managed to put in a mildly upbeat session, although the boost didn’t extend to Facebook,which fell 3.39% and is now down 16% since the co. went public a week ago. Nvidia was up 2.4% the firm said it was making heavy investments in its core computing chips. Notable decliners included Google, Amazon and Apple. This week markets will continue to be driven by the situation in Europe, especially in the weeks leading up to Greece's June 17 elections. Spanish banks are already in the spotlight, with Spain's fourth-largest bank, Bankia, asking the nation's central bank for €19 billion to recapitalize itself. The most important number will come in the Labor Department's May jobs report before the opening bell on Friday. Meanwhile, U.S. stock-index futures climbed Monday as Greece’s pro-austerity party topped polls ahead of June elections, raising hopes the country can adopt measures needed to stay in the euro. Implied volatility inched lower on moderate trading volumes.
