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Japan stocks fell, capping the Topix index's longest weekly losing streak in seven years, as tumbling crude prices sent oil explorers lower. Shares extended declines after a newspaper report U.S. mortgage lender Freddie Mac will raise $10 billion in new equity.
Inpex Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest oil explorer, sank to the lowest in more than two months after crude declined 11 percent in three days. Sony Corp. led a drop by electronics producers on concern the global economy is weakening.
Sony, the maker of the PlayStation 3 game console, lost 1.8 percent to 4,310 yen. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the world's largest maker of consumer electronics, declined 2.1 percent to 2,130 yen.
Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region shrank in July for an eighth-straight month as orders and employment sank, adding to evidence the U.S. economy has yet to begin a recovery.
Mizuho lost 0.6 percent to finish at 541,000 yen. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., the country's biggest lender by value, declined 0.4 percent to 951 yen after rising as much as 3 percent in the morning.
The Nikkei recorded a 1.8 percent drop in the last five days, while the Topix fell 2.6 percent. Both gauges have declined for the past six weeks, which is the longest stretch of losses for the Topix since September 2001.

European stocks posted the first weekly gain since May, after Citigroup Inc.'s smaller-than-estimated loss outweighed disappointing earnings at Merrill Lynch & Co. and Microsoft Corp.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and BNP Paribas SA led the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Banks Index to its biggest three-day advance in five years. Air France-KLM Group, Europe's largest airline, and Daimler AG, the world's second-biggest maker of luxury cars, also rallied for a third day as oil posted a 10 percent weekly decline.
The Stoxx 600 added 1.6 percent to 280.69 Friday, extending this week's gain to 3.8 percent. Shares climbed as Citigroup joined JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Nokia Oyj this week in reporting better-than-expected earnings.
Royal Bank, the second-biggest U.K. bank, jumped 10 percent to 197.6 pence. BNP, the largest French bank, gained 6.6 percent to 62.50 euros.
Citigroup reported a second-quarter net loss of $2.5 billion, compared with a loss of $3.67 billion estimated by analysts
Merrill, the third-biggest U.S. securities firm, yesterday posted a net loss of $4.65 billion, exceeding the firm's $1.96 billion first-quarter loss. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, posted fourth-quarter profit that trailed analyst estimates and gave a disappointing forecast.
Air France climbed 4.7 percent to 15.88 euros. British Airways Plc, the region's third-biggest, rallied 6.5 percent to 242 pence.
Daimler gained 3.8 percent to 41.09 euros.

Most U.S. stocks fell Friday, led by technology shares, as disappointing results at Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. overshadowed Citigroup Inc.'s smaller-than- estimated loss, extending the yearlong earnings slump.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 1.86 point, or 0.2 percent, to 1,258.46 Friday, paring its gain this week to 1.6 percent. The Dow average climbed 36.64, or 0.3 percent, to 11,483.30.
The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 29.04, or 1.3 percent, to 2,283.26.

Sixty-seven S&P 500 companies that reported second-quarter earnings missed the analyst estimate by 0.9 percent on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. As of the close of trading yesterday, results were running 6.7 percent ahead of forecasts. Analysts project profits fell 16 percent during the period, the fourth consecutive decline. That would be the longest streak in six years, Bloomberg data show.
The combined value of global equities has fallen by about $13.5 trillion since October as more than $447 billion in credit- related losses prolong the global economy's slump and rising commodity prices stoke inflation.
U.S. stocks have fared better than European and Asian equities, measured by the performance of broad benchmark indexes. The S&P 500's 14 percent drop this year compares with losses of 17 percent for the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index, 21 percent for the German DAX Index and 15 percent for Japan's Topix Index.
Better-than-expected reports from Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. this week eased investor concern about how much more capital financial institutions need to raise because of the U.S. housing slump. S&P 500 companies in that industry surged more than 20 percent since July 15, the steepest three-day gain on record.
Citigroup gained $1.55, or 8.6 percent, to $19.52 for the biggest advance in the Dow average. The biggest U.S. bank by assets, which is still down 33 percent in 2008, posted a loss of 49 cents a share from continuing operations. That was less than the 60-cent loss analysts estimated on average in a Bloomberg survey. Citigroup took about $7.2 billion of credit-market writedowns.
Merrill Lynch & Co. fell 76 cents to $29.97, limiting financials' advance. The third-biggest U.S. securities firm reported its fourth straight quarterly loss. Merrill lost $4.65 billion as it added $9.7 billion to its tally of credit-market writedowns. Analysts at Citigroup Inc., Oppenheimer & Co. and Wachovia Corp. had predicted the company would book charges of at least $5 billion.
Google fell $50.87, or 9.5 percent, to $482.57. The company posted second-quarter profit of $3.92 a share, excluding costs such as stock compensation. Analysts estimated $4.73 on average in a Bloomberg survey. Google reported a slowdown in the growth of consumers clicking on Web ads and higher-than-expected research and legal expenses.
Microsoft retreated $1.90, or 6.9 percent, to $25.62. The world's biggest software maker reported 2.3 percent less fourth- quarter profit than analysts estimated. The company, whose shares have fallen 28 percent this year, predicted first-quarter earnings as low as 47 cents a share. Analysts polled by Bloomberg anticipated 49 cents a share, on average.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. fell 13 percent to $4.62, its biggest drop since October 2006 and the most in the S&P 500. The chipmaker reported a wider loss after writing down the value of its 2006 purchase of ATI Technologies Inc. by $880 million. Chief Executive Officer Hector Ruiz resigned, passing the reins to Chief Operating Officer Dirk Meyer.
The S&P 500 Information Technology Index slumped 1.6 percent, its first retreat in four days.

The dollar headed for a weekly advance against the euro, rebounding from a record low on signs U.S. investment banks will withstand credit-market losses stemming from the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market.
The U.S. currency rose versus the yen today after Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank, reported better-than-expected second-quarter results.
``The risk of a systematic meltdown has been reduced,'' said Benedikt Germanier, a currency strategist in Stamford, Connecticut, at UBS AG, the world's second-largest foreign- exchange trading firm. ``It lends some support to the dollar.''
The dollar traded at $1.5834 per euro in New York Friday, compared with $1.5863 Thursday and $1.5938 at the end of last week. It dropped to an all-time low of $1.6038 on July 15. The currency climbed to 106.88 yen from 106.28 yen Thursday. The Japanese currency traded at 169.23 per euro, from 168.58 and 169.46 on July 11.

The pound dropped to 79.37 pence per euro, from 79.16 Thursday, and to $1.9955 from $2.0038 on speculation the U.K. government will boost borrowing as Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling introduces new spending guidelines.
The rules will allow it to break limits on public sector debt, the Financial Times said today, without citing anyone. A Treasury spokesman said the report is ``pure speculation.''

The yen was set for a weekly loss against the US dollar, Australian dollar and South African rand as the rally in U.S. stocks following JPMorgan's earnings yesterday encouraged so-called carry trades. The yen fell 2 percent this week against the rand and 0.6 percent versus the Australian dollar.

In carry trades, investors get funds in a country with low borrowing costs and buy assets where returns are higher. The Bank of Japan held its target lending rate at 0.5 percent this week, the lowest among major economies. Benchmark rates are 12 percent in South Africa and 7.25 percent in Australia.
``Currency traders are likely to take their cue from the stock market,'' said Masanobu Ishikawa, general manager of foreign exchange at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow Ltd., Japan's largest currency broker. ``Earnings season isn't as bad as many had feared. There will be some pressure on the yen to weaken.''
The yen may decline to 107 per dollar Friday, Ishikawa forecast.
The S&P index lost 3.8 percent in the seven trading days ended July 15, the day the dollar reached its worst level against the euro, on speculation a government plan to shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would fail to restore confidence in the two largest buyers of U.S. home loans. It has since risen 3.6 percent.
``The Treasury and the Fed have put a firewall around Freddie and Fannie to contain the systemic risk in the financial markets,'' said Richard Franulovich, a senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in New York. ``It has created the conditions of a big dollar bounce.''
Merrill Lynch & Co., the third-biggest U.S. securities firm, reported a fourth straight quarterly loss yesterday.
Global banks and securities firms have reported losses and writedowns of $436 billion related to subprime loans to U.S. homeowners with poor credit, weighing on both stocks and the nation's currency this year.
Cheaper oil is still helping to support the greenback against the euro. Crude oil for August delivery is set for a record weekly drop in dollar terms, having lost about $14 a barrel since July 11 in New York.
The euro-dollar exchange rate and oil have moved in the same direction 90 percent of the time during the past year, according to Bloomberg calculations based on the correlation of their value changes.

Crude oil fell for a fourth day of the last week, capping the biggest weekly decline in more than three years, as the Bush administration's decision to participate in nuclear talks with Iran eased concern of a possible military conflict. A slowing global economy, faltering U.S. fuel demand and rising supplies helped push futures to their biggest weekly dollar decline ever. Prices tumbled 11% last week on reduced tension between the U.S. and Iran, which holds the world's second- largest oil reserves.

Iran has said it may blockade the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane for a fifth of the world's crude, if its nuclear facilities are attacked. The country is the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
U.S. fuel consumption fell 3% in the first half of 2008, the biggest decline for the period in 17 years, as high prices and a slowing economy curbed demand, the American Petroleum Institute said.

Crude oil for August delivery fell 10.6% to $128.88 a barrel, the lowest close since June 5. Futures reached a record of $147.27 on July 11 and have risen 72% from a year ago. Last week's decline was the biggest in percentage terms since December 2004, when heating demand in the U.S. Northeast eased because of mild weather. Oil closed at $42.54 a barrel that week, less than a third of today's settlement price. The $16.20 a-barrel decline was the biggest weekly drop in dollar terms since the futures began trading in 1983. Brent crude oil for September settlement fell to $130.19 a barrel, the lowest close since June 5. Prices climbed to a record $147.50 on July 11.

Gold fell after rallying shares reduced demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment. Silver also declined. Gold futures fell to $958 an ounce. Earlier, the most-active contract touched $950.20, the lowest price in a week. Silver futures for September delivery fell to $18.20 an ounce. The metal still has gained 22% this year, while gold climbed 14%.

Copper declined, heading for a second straight weekly drop, as supplies rose in China, the world's largest consumer of the metal. Stockpiles monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 13% this week to 42,935 metric tons. That's the highest level since May 29. Chinese production in the six months through June rose 19% from a year earlier, the country's statistics bureau said today. Copper fell 5.3% the week before. On the London Metal Exchange, copper dropped to $8,085 a metric ton. A close at that price would mark a decline of 2.1% this week. Copper has more than quadrupled in the past five years as mining companies, hampered by strikes and falling ore grades, struggled to keep up with demand from China, India and other emerging economies.