On Friday, the Dow Jones dropped 122 points after Spain received from Fitch Ratings another downgrade on their credit rating. This was the second one within a month. With this unsettling news, European stocks closed out at their worst in over a year. The agency’s decision was another reminder of the economic hardships still facing several countries in Europe.

With Europe’s debt problems intensifying and persistent worries, the Dow plunged 7.9% and the S & P 500 index 8.2% in the month of May. These performances were the worst since early 2009. The Dow Jones lost about 872 points, the biggest decline ever for the month of May.

In May stocks plunged continuously then recovered. Later in the day they would drop again as it was a holiday weekend and investors wanted to play safe and sell off. With Spain cutting its budget it will probably slow economic growth so Fitch cut the rating down by one notch. With the rising deficit Spain along with other European countries are imposing measures for austerity.

Another reason for the cut was a bailout of a Spanish bank. With the bailout the recovery could lag or slow down. Greece and Portugal had their ratings lowered as well. With this news, the Dow’s reaction was just an example of how fast investors will sell in the month of May. Investors are worried about what they hear and see.