Dow suffers biggest drop this year, following Europe losses
3/6/2012NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks are down sharply at midday after steep losses in Europe.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 165 points. That is its biggest decline during a trading day this year.
Just before noon EST, the Dow was down 1.3 percent to 12,798. The biggest decline for the Dow during a trading day this year had been a 159-point decline on Jan. 13.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 19 points to 1,345. The Nasdaq composite index fell 40 points to 2,911. Both were down 1.4 percent.
The big worries have been Greek debt as well as a weakening economy in Europe. Stocks in Germany and France fell more than 3 percent. The main stock index in Britain was down 1.7 percent.