JUST IN TIME to brighten up the weekend:

Fitch just downgraded the credit ratings of Italy and Spain — not unexpected, but the latest in a string of gouges being cut in the side of the market’s high hopes for Europe.

Fitch cut Spain’s long-term credit rating to “AA-” from “AA+.” It cut Italy to “A+” from “AA-.”

This isn’t having a huge impact on the market, but it does seem to be shaking optimism a little bit. The Dow is down 9 points or so, while the S&P is down 0.6% and and the Nasdaq is down 1.2%.

The Italian downgrade is maybe a little less of a shock, given that Moody’s just downgraded it three notches a few days ago. But Spain might be kind of a bigger deal.