US stocks follow European equities lower

Wall Street stocks Tuesday finished lower, following European markets downward after political turmoil in Greece revived worries about the eurozone. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

New York–Wall Street stocks Tuesday finished lower, following European markets downward after political turmoil in Greece revived worries about the eurozone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 55.16 points (0.31 percent) to fall below 18,000 at 17,983.07.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 10.22 (0.49 percent) to 2,080.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 29.47 (0.61 percent) to 4,777.44.

Equity markets in Britain, France and Germany each fell more than 1.2 percent after Greece’s Prime Minister said a snap election for president planned for Jan. 25 would determine whether the country leaves the eurozone.

US consumer confidence rose in December, while home-price increases were more modest in October, data showed.

Analysts said trade was limited ahead of Thursday’s New Year’s holiday.

“Basically, the volume is light and there is no specific theme that is driving the stock market,” said Hugh Johnson of Hugh Johnson Advisors.

“It’s more or less just trend-less and volatile. I wouldn’t attach much significance to what’s going on today.”

Civeo, which provides workforce accommodations to oil and natural resources companies in Canada and Australia, sank 52.6 percent, citing the weak oil-investment environment. Civeo projected 2015 revenues of $540-$600 million, much below the $817 million forecast by analysts.

Real-estate investment trust American Realty Capital Properties rose 7.4 percent after activist investor Corvex Management disclosed a 7.1 percent stake in the company and said it would press for changes to boost shareholder return.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.19 percent from 2.21 percent Monday, while the 30-year dipped to 2.76 percent from 2.78 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.