By Kristina Cooke
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid sharply on Friday after Bear Stearns said credit markets were in their worst shape in two decades, while jobs data aroused further concerns about weakness in the economy.
Bear Stearns Cos. stock fell 5.9 percent as mortgage jitters drove a broad market sell-off with the three major indexes falling more than 2 percent.
Earlier, Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on Bear Stearns' debt to "negative," saying the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage bonds may have problems, including with its hedge funds, that could hurt the firm "for an extended period."
"It's particularly ugly right now," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New Jersey.
"The Bear Stearns comments are what really pushed the market over the edge."
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