US stocks post heavy losses on Greek debt fears

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Big losses on Wall Street have threatened to wipe out the gains made on US markets since the start of the year after concerns over Greece's debts and the cooling American economy spooked investors.

The S&P 500 slid 1.7 per cent to 1265.42 at, trimming this year’s gain to 0.6 per cent. When it closed, the gauge had fallen to the lowest level since March 16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 178.84 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 11,897.27 today.

‘‘It’s a classic 'risk-off' day,’’ said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist for Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential Financial, which oversees $US859 billion.

‘‘They keep talking about kicking the can down the road in Europe. The can is getting heavier and heavier. The dollar-euro trade is on. The economy is in a slow patch. We suspect that weaker economic data should help curtail the march higher in commodities.’’ ......read on