Dow closes down 281 pts at 13,181, Nasdaq slips 64-pt

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CNBC's Rebecca Jarvis has given US Markets highlights for the day's trade.

Wall Street capping off a volatile week, with a huge sell-off in the final hours of trading. The Dow closed at 13,181 after losing more than 281 points, the S&P 500 lost 39 points and the Nasdaq was off by more than 64 points.

Stocks spent most of the day in the red but really started to tumble after 2 o'clock. That's when Bear Stearns' CFO held a conference call saying in part, this is the worst credit market he has seen in 22 years. Earlier, Standard & Poor's downgraded the investment bank's rating from stable to negative because of its exposure to the crumbling subprime mortgage market. Bear Stearns shares lost more than 5% on the day.

Meantime, unexpectedly weak economic ratings also put pressure on the Dow. The Labour Department says unemployment was up slightly last month as employers' added fewer than expected jobs, and a measure of the services sector also showed slower growth. Also in today's session, a rise in bonds, while the dollar weakened.

Wall Street Action

• Huge selloff in the final hours of trading
• Dow down over 281 pts, Nasdaq down by more than 64 pts
• Bear Stearns down by 5%
• Unexpected weak economic ratings
• Services sector also showed slower growth