Stocks end week on low note

NEW YORK — Stocks have ended the week with a big decline after insurer AIG reported a wider-than-expected loss and oil prices reached another high.

American International Group's first-quarter loss has rattled investors and is rekindling anxiety about the strained state of the global financial system.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices continued their advance. Oil futures have topped $126 a barrel for the first time.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 120.90 points to close at 12,745.88.

Microsoft, one of the 30 Dow stocks, gained 12 cents to end at $29.39. Boeing, another Dow stock, slipped 70 cents to end the day at $84.06.

The Nasdaq was down 5.72 points to 2,445.52. The Standard and Poor's 500 index slid 9.40 point to 1,388.28.

Economic figures out today underscored the slowdown in the U.S. economy. The Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in March as demand for imports registered the biggest decline since the last recession was ending.

The deficit stood at $58.2 billion, a decrease of 5.6 percent from February. The 2.9 percent drop in demand for imports was the steepest monthly decline since December 2001 — a month after the last recession ended.

In corporate news, AIG fell $3.46, or 7.8 percent, to $40.69 after reporting its loss. The stock was by far the steepest decliner among the 30 that comprise the Dow industrials.

Citigroup said it hopes to shed about $500 billion in assets and increase revenue by 9 percent over the next few years as it tries to recover from big losses tied to deterioration in the mortgage and credit markets.

General Motors, also a Dow component, said in a regulatory filing it would provide financial support to help settle the 10-week strike at auto parts supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings. GM fell 59 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $20.56.