Wall Street Closes Sharply Lower Stocks closed sharply lower Friday on Wall Street after heading downward late in the session, weighed down by declines in energy and health care shares. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 208.96 points, or 1.36 percent, to end unofficially at 15,115.57. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 23.67 points, or 1.43 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,630.74. The Nasdaq composite slid 35.38 points, or 1.01 percent, to close unofficially at 3,455.91. Nonetheless, the three major indexes closed out May with gains. The S.&P. 500 rose 14.34 percent for the first five months of 2013, its best first five months since 1997. Trading has been volatile for most of the week as investors reacted to small declines in the market by almost immediately buying more shares. The mood, however, was tempered by concerns about the Fed easing its monetary policy, which has bolstered the American economy. In the latest piece of data that eased some anxiety about the Fed, consumer spending fell in April for the first time in almost a year and inflation pressures were subdued, pointing to a slowdown in economic activity. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of United States economic activity, was held down by weak demand for utilities and a decrease in receipts at gasoline stations following a drop in gasoline prices at the pump. When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending increased just 0.1 percent in April after rising 0.2 percent in March. "The data is confirming that the Fed is quite a long way away from having to raise interest rates to control inflation," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group, in Bedford Hills, N.Y. European shares dropped as much as 1 percent, and the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index ended the day 0.7 percent lower. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei had bounced back 1.3 percent at the end of its worst week in over a year. "I still think if we look in the medium term, the momentum in equities is still intact," said Peter Garnry, strategist at Saxo Bank. "For this momentum to stop it would require some kind of a political or market hiccup in Europe," he added. Euro zone inflation ticked up to 1.4 percent in May from 1.2 percent in April, according to data on Friday that may dampen the chances of a European Central Bank rate cut next week. Unemployment in the euro zone, the 17 members of the European Union that use the euro, hit a record of 12.2 percent in April. Those grim jobless figures came a day after France and Germany agreed to draw up plans to have a full-time euro zone president, hold more frequent meetings and speed the disbursement of 6 billion euros in European Union funds to alleviate youth unemployment. Troubles also continue for those bordering the euro zone. Lending to Britain's businesses fell sharply in April, data from the Bank of England showed, dropping by the biggest margin so far in 2013, even as mortgage approvals edged higher.