US stocks finished lower Friday after a late selloff erased the day's gains

Bank of America Corp. and American Express Co. slumped at least 3 percent as the government prepared to raise $162 billion by selling securities next week. Investors including Pacific Investment Management Co.'s Bill Gross have said the U.S. will lose its AAA credit rating. Salesforce.com Inc. dropped 8.8 percent after its sales forecast missed analysts' estimates.

Sears Holdings Corp. jumped 10 percent, limiting the market's decline, after the department store posted an unexpected profit. McDonald's Corp. advanced 2.5 percent, also fueling a rally by consumer companies, after analysts said that profit margins in Europe are improving.

Singapore stocks closed 1.55 per cent higher Friday after bargain-hunting reversed earlier losses. The blue chip Straits Times Index (STI) gained 34.30 points to 2,245.27 with gainers leading losers 284 to 198. Banking shares closed higher, with DBS gaining 20 cents to $11.80, OCBC inching up eight cents to $7.18 and UOB climbing 24 cents to $14.32.

Keppel Corp said on Sunday a wholly-owned unit had sold its entire stake (45.5%) in Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) to PetroChina for S$1.47 billion ($1.02 billion) or $6.25 per share.