NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The major indexes capped a losing week for stocks, with triple-digit declines for the Dow industrials Friday, after global uncertainty caused investors to flee stocks for "safe-haven" assets like gold and bonds.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 128.83 to 8303.78, Charts) fell about 1.5 percent, the Nasdaq composite (down 19.58 to 1348.31, Charts) dropped 1.4 percent, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (down 14.26 to 875.40, Charts) lost 1.6 percent.

For the week, the Dow fell 2.4 percent, the Nasdaq slipped 1.1 percent, and the S&P lost 2.3 percent.

Among the factors that precipitated the declines for the market were worrisome developments in North Korea which compounded investor anxiety over another global trouble spot -- Iraq.

At the same time, concerns about weak corporate profits and a slow economic recovery also kept the traditional year-end rally for stocks at bay. Although some market watchers discounted the weekly loss, saying it came in a holiday-shortened week on very light volume, others said the same factors that depressed stocks in 2002 could do it again in the new year.

"The traditional year-end rally didn't happen this year and the 'January Effect' doesn't look like it's going to occur. This is just a wait-and-see market right now that will continue to be driven by important catalysts, whether geopolitical or earnings-based," Barry Hyman, an independent strategist, told CNNfn's Market Call.

Traders said the anemic trading volume in the holiday-shortened week was also partially responsible for increased volatility in the markets.

Blue chips suffered a broadbased selloff, with 29 of the 30 stocks of the Dow industrials ending lower. Technology stocks also shed value across the board. Among the losing sectors were financial, retail, manufacturing and consumer stocks.

Stocks are also set for a third straight year of declines. To date, the Dow is off about 17 percent, the Nasdaq is off about 31 percent, and the S&P 500 is off about 24 percent for the year.

Market breadth was negative on exceptionally light volume. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners led advancers about 2 to 1 as 677 million share were traded. On the Nasdaq, losers beat gainers 2 to 1 as 731 million shares changed hands.

Retail stocks Wal-Mart (WMT: down $0.60 to $49.16, Research, Estimates), Target (TGT: down $0.10 to $28.65, Research, Estimates), and Federated Department Stores (FD: down $0.14 to $27.52, Research, Estimates) fell on the back of weak holiday sales projections.

Technology bellwethers IBM (IBM: down $1.14 to $77.36, Research, Estimates),Intel (INTC: down $0.29 to $16.40, Research, Estimates), and Microsoft (MSFT: down $0.42 to $52.97, Research, Estimates) exacerbated the Dow's downturn.

Ford (F: down $0.21 to $9.58, Research, Estimates) was another pressure point on the broader market. The city of Dallas said late Thursday it was planning to sue Ford, seeking information on the automaker's Crown Victoria police cruiser following a fuel-tank fire that killed a Dallas police officer, according to news reports.

Bucking the overall downdraft were shares of defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LMT: up $0.80 to $57.70, Research, Estimates). The company won a $3.5 billion contract from Poland to deliver 48 F-16 fighter jets to the Polish air force. The deal is Poland's largest-ever tender for military equipment, the country's Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said Friday.

Nervousness about the potential of U.S. military confrontation with Iraq has pressured the market for months. Market pros said investors now were also factoring in developments in North Korea. That country said Friday it had decided to expel United Nations nuclear weapons inspectors who had been monitoring the country's frozen nuclear facilities.

The twin concerns have led to rallies in gold and bond prices as investors take money out of stocks and make a bid for these "safe haven assets."

Meanwhile, the United States has set a Jan. 27 deadline to decide how it will react in its standoff with Iraq.

The dollar fell to a fresh three-year low against the euro. The greenback was weaker against the yen.

Light crude oil futures slipped 23 cents to $32.72 a barrel in U.S. trading -- hitting a new 15-month high -- on continuing concern about the Iraq crisis and the protracted strike by oil workers in Venezuela.

Gold stocks rallied after the precious metal rose 30 cents to $349.70. Gold has risen 9 of the past 10 trading sessions, gaining about $27 an ounce in December.

Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed Friday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.2 percent. European markets closed lower.

Treasury prices rose, with the 10-year note yield at 3.86 percent.