Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange November 7, 2012 in New York City. AFP FILE PHOTO
NEW YORK—US stocks closed lower Tuesday amid worries about Greece’s debt crisis and a US “fiscal cliff” of spending cuts and tax hikes at year-end which threaten to drag the economy into recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 56.67 points (0.44 percent) at 12,758.41 in closing trade.
The broad-market S&P 500 dropped 5.31 (0.38 percent) to 1,374.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 20.39 (0.70 percent) to 2,883.86.
After opening lower, stocks clawed back into positive territory but were unable to sustain the gains.
“The fiscal cliff concern hasn’t gone away… (and) the concerns about Greece are still present,” said Patrick O’Hare at Briefing.com.