Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Wall Street posts first big loss; European shares lower

The Dow dropped more than 200 points on Tuesday, handing Wall Street its worst day in almost three months on renewed fears of a disorderly default in Greece and concerns that China's slowdown would hit global growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 203.66 points, or 1.57 percent, to 12,759.15 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 20.97 points, or 1.54 percent, to 1,343.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 40.16 points, or 1.36 percent, to 2,910.32.

European shares hit a one-month closing low after fresh growth and Greek debt-deal concerns drove a long-waited correction, after an almost three-month rally.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed down 2.4 percent at 1,054.63 points after hitting its lowest level since early-February at 1,053.86 points.

Japan's Nikkei share average slipped for a second day as investors bagged profits on blue chip stocks following February's 10.5 percent rally, although some attractive valuations and a softer yen supported sentiment.

The benchmark Nikkei closed 0.6 percent lower at 9,637.63 after losing 0.8 percent on Monday. Mid-last week, the index touched a 7-month high of 9,866.41.