NEW YORK, N.Y. – U.S. stocks are sharply lower in midday trading following a slump in global markets.
European markets slid after an early presidential vote was called in Greece, which investors feared could jeopardize the struggling country’s bailout program.
Stocks also fell in China after regulators there tightened rules for lending.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 164 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 17,690 as of noon Eastern time.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 16 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 2,043. The Nasdaq composite lost 25 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 4,714.
The price of crude oil rebounded from a dip the day before, rising 58 cents to $63.63 a barrel in New York.
Government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.21 per cent.
