US equities have failed to stop their losing streak, shedding 112 basis points, or 0.99%, minutes after the opening bell. After being winded on Thursday by a round of weak data, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened at 10,978 at 14.31pm. It ended Thursday's trade 420 points down at 10,990 after Morgan Stanley and Citi cut their growth forecasts, and as inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index took another step up. Fears about the global recovery took another toll on markets, with a report from JP Morgan, in which the investment bank trimmed its fourth quarter growth estimate from 2.5% to 1%, sliced away at the value of America's top firms. China, one of the emerging market powerhouses relied upon to boost world growth, also looked as though it was starting to falter. After expanding 10% during 2010, the tiger's economy is this year growing at a rate of 9% according to figures released today. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, equities were continuing to see losses. At 14.28pm the FTSE 100 stood below the all-important 5,000 mark, at 4,999, 1.82% down.