Stock Market, Eurozone | featured news

Stocks fell and the spread between Spanish and German bonds hit a record wide, as the prospect of fresh elections heightened concerns about the likelihood of Greece exiting the euro zone.

U.S. stock futures are back up near Wednesday's opening price this morning as investors continue to focus firmly on Italy. Yesterday the Dow dropped almost 400 points as Italian bond yields surged past the 7% mark that is seen as the point of no return. At a time when the country has a lot of debt to refinance, borrowing costs are seen as unsustainable.

Stocks rose on Thursday after the European Central Bank launched fresh liquidity measures to help banks weather the euro zone's debt crisis, easing one of the major concerns overhanging markets.

Stocks rose on Thursday after U.S. economic data came in stronger than forecast and Germany's lower house approved new powers for the euro zone's crisis fund.

Markets declined on Friday in the wake of President Obama’s jobs speech that added to the uncertainty already weighing on global markets over the euro zone.

Worry about lack of substantive progress towards a blueprint for tackling the euro zone debt crisis kept investors on edge, traders said. In the United States, consumer inflation rose more than expected in May.