The stock market closed about 127 points lower Friday, ending a wild day that finished with a nearly 280 point swing in the last hour of trading.

Special Section: Save Money

The Dow Jones industrial average closed Friday at 8852, ending a week that saw the index post the largest one-day gain and second-largest decline in the market's history. The market entered the last hour of trading up 144 points. The Dow gained 4.7 percent for the week.

Lackluster economic data and signals of easing in the credit markets tugged the market in different directions throughout the session. Still, the Dow traded within a narrower range than it has in much of the past two weeks.

The Standard & Poor's 500 fell nearly 6 points to 940. It also had a gain for the week of more than 4 percent.

And the Nasdaq composite slipped 6 points to 1,711. It saw a 3.7 percent weekly gain.

On the broader market, advancing issues topped decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a 9 to 7 margin.

NYSE volume came to 6.4 billion shares. Nasdaq volume was 2.7 billion shares.

Bush: Crisis Moved Beyond Wall Street

President George W. Bush said the United States' "serious financial crisis" has moved beyond Wall Street. But he said Americans can be confident government actions will set things right over time.

In remarks before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday morning, Bush cautioned that it will take time to thaw out the frozen credit system so that people and businesses can get the loans they need to get the economy moving.

Calling on his audience to have faith in the markets, Bush said the government's rescue moves are "big enough and bold enough to work."

"I know many are worried about the price tag of this rescue package. Every dollar spent will be subject to strong oversight by a bipartisan board," Bush said. We will ensure that failed executives do not receive a windfall from hard-earned taxpayer dollars."

Despite recent actions by the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve, banks in the United States and abroad are still wary of lending money to each other and to their customers. All the fallout threatens to plunge the U.S. economy, as well as the world economy, into a painful recession.

Earlier this week, the Treasury Department announced it would inject up to $250 billion in U.S. banks in return for partial ownership stakes, something that hasn't been done since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The government hopes banks will use the capital infusions to rebuild their reserves and bolster lending to customers.

As news about government intervention in the markets worldwide percolated through the week, global stocks went on a roller coaster ride.

By Thursday's closing bell, the Dow gained 401 points to 8,979, after an 800-point swing in one day. The S&P 500 rose more than 38 points to 946. And the Nasdaq composite added 89 points to 1,717.

The price of oil rose slightly $2 on Friday to close at $71.85 per barrel. It came after a more than 6 percent drop on Thursday.

After Wall Street's big rebound, overseas stocks were mixed Friday, with Japan's market recovering somewhat from a historic fall.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 4.44 percent to its lowest level in almost three years, but Japan's Nikkei average rose 2.78 percent after a 11.4 percent loss Thursday. In Europe, Britain's FTSE index traded up 0.66 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.21 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.96 percent.

But traders remain nervous because of the volatility. The Dow on Thursday had a swing of more than 800 points. One dealer said it's "going to be difficult to call an end to these choppy market conditions."

Another expert said even though the "financial maelstrom" may be about to ease, "it is not over." He said there are likely to be more "pulses of risk aversion."