July 24, 2012-Markets Fall on Euro Concerns

Stocks moved notably lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session. Worries about the financial situation in Europe once again contributed to the weakness on Wall Street. The major averages regained some ground going into the close but still ended the day firmly in the red. The Dow fell 104.14 points or 0.8 percent to 12,617.32, the Nasdaq dropped 27.16 points or 0.9 percent to 2,862.99 and the S&P 500 slid 12.21 points or 0.9 percent to 1,338.31. The sell-off on Wall Street came as traders expressed continued concerns about the ongoing European debt crisis and its impact on the global economy. Adding to the concerns about Europe, credit ratings agency Moody's revised the outlooks on the Aaa sovereign ratings of Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative from stable. Moody's cited the rising uncertainty regarding the outcome of the euro area debt crisis, which stems in part from the increased likelihood of Greece's exit from the euro area.