NEW YORK - US STOCKS dived on Friday as euphoria over stronger-than-expected economic growth evaporated in a flood of concern over the strength of the recovery from recession.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 249.85 points (2.51 per cent) to finish at 9,712.73, wiping up its nearly 200 points chalked up a day earlier.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq skidded 52.44 points (2.50 per cent) to 2,045.11 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index retreated 29.92 points (2.81 per cent) to 1,036.19.

Month-end profit taking and worries about the financial sector sparked a fierce selloff a day after the government reported gross domestic product rose 3.5 per cent in the third quarter after a year of contractions.

'As investors took a second look at the first GDP estimate for the third quarter and contemplated rumours about the financial sector, all three major equity indices fell,' said Sara Kline of Moody's Economy.com.

Briefing.com analysts pointed out that 95 per cent of the stocks on the S&P 500 had logged losses, 'which contributed to the worst weekly loss in five months for the broad-market measure'. -- AFP