US Stocks Have Worst Day of Year on Greece Fears

(Dow Jones) - US stocks were dragged down for their worst one-day loss this year by tumult over the Greek bailout, disappointing readings on the US economy and a downgrade of nearly three dozen Italian banks.

Stocks fell on the open and stayed down, but ended on a brief rally that cut the Dow's losses to under 100 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 89.23 points, or 0.7 percent, at 12,801.23. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 9.31 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,342.64, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 23.35 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,903.88.

The losses were the worst day for the stock market since Dec. 28, interrupting a rally that has brought each of the major indexes up about 20 percent in the last four months. All 10 of the S&P's sectors were lower, led down by materials and energy.

Eurozone finance ministers didn't approve a second bailout that Greece needs to stay afloat, saying that Greece's parliament must first approve the austerity measures before they will sign off on the loan deal. European markets were broadly lower, with the Stoxx Europe 600 closing down 0.9 percent.

"Greece weighed on the market, but the market needed an excuse," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. "It's overbought. This was as good as an excuse as one could want."

The US trade deficit in December was $48.8 billion, slightly wider than the $48.5 billion expected by economists. And the University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment survey for February came in at 72.5, weaker than the 75 reading expected by economists.

Asian bourses also were mostly lower, with the Nikkei Stock Average losing 0.6 percent. China's Shanghai Composite bucked the trend by rising 0.1 percent after data showing the country's trade surplus widened more than expected in January.

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